Frozen Flames
by Wild Cat 214
Summary: How was Hiccup supposed to know that pirates were on the prowl? Or that they would capture him and throw him in jail? When he finds that he's not alone in his prison, it'll take a lot more than dragon nip to protect Berk from the chaos of a girl and her dragon.
1. Prologue: Sentences

**Author's Note: Here it is, Frozen Flames! My second HTTYD fanfic! Thank you for bothering to click on this. It means a lot to me (wipes tear from eye). Please enjoy! Also, please keep in mind that I will post a new chapter after a few reviews, so if you want me to post the next chapter, REVIEW! You can tell I'm serious because I used all caps and two, that's right, TWO exclamation points.  
Disclaimer: I only own my OCs. Everything else is Dreamwork's or someone else's.  
Warning: This fanfic will be mostly dialogue and descriptions. And me ranting in the Notes. Also, this will span the time from just after the first movie to the end of the second. Maybe I'll add the third season after it comes out, then the third movie. But that won't be for a while, so don't sweat it.  
P.S. Words in BOLD are translated Piratian, the language of the Blackstone Pirates.**

_Part 1: Ice_

3rd Person POV: No One in Particular

A girl is in chains in a cell. She has short, curly brown hair, blue-grey eyes, a light blue star tattooed over her right eye, and square gem piercings. She wears a white blouse, a pair of black pants, brown boots trimmed in white fur, and a brown belt. The belt has a silver buckle with a star and five flowers carved into it. A tribal necklace of ten triangles and a trapezoid hang from her neck, alongside a braided cord of red, black, white, and light blue threads. The cold light of the moon reaches her from a window high above. A dragon can be heard roaring nearby. The metal door screeches open and a man walks in.

"**It's time for your trial.**" She glares at him.

"**Come on. The Captain will see you now.**" He roughly picks her up and leads her out of the cell. The girl is forced into a pit. Far above, several men sit in chairs in a circle around the rim. The biggest is empty. She hears a roar. A white dragon with a silver tinge to its scales is shoved inside, and the gate behind it clangs shut. Its head is muzzled, its legs are bound in chains, and it glares at the men looking down at them.

"Frostwave!" she says, running to the dragon. It croons quietly while she holds its head. The men mutter angrily then quiet down when another man joins them. He has an eye patch over his left eye. A black diamond is tattooed over his right eye, and a golden tooth gleams among the few remaining in his mouth. His remaining eye glitters blackly.

"**Adeline, child, why do you betray your people like this? Consorting with one of those vile creatures? I thought I taught you better than that.**" She winces at the mention of being taught by this man.

"**Apparently you didn't teach her well enough, Captain,**" one of the other men says. Adeline turns to glare at him. He has emotionless black eyes and a red triangle tattooed over his right eye.

"**But who can blame you? She is an **Ytubdaa**, not even a full **Benydel**.**" The others murmur at this statement about her lineage.

"**And yet she has proven to be one of our best fighters. Can your son claim the same thing?**" The man keeps his silence.

"**That's what I thought, Gale. Now, on to her sentence.**"

"**What?! You haven't even given me a chance to defend myself!**" He looks down at her.

"**Adeline, I do not recall giving you the right to speak. Perhaps you should hold your tongue.**" She stares at the stony floor.

"**Much better. Now, since she refuses to kill the… **Tnykuh… **I propose we lock her in the dungeon until she has learned the error of her ways. All in favor say aye.**" Almost all of them say aye.

"**Then it is settled. Since it is unlucky to kill a Silver Horror, when she has decided to rejoin us that will be her proving ceremony.**"

"**What?! I would never kill Frostwave!**"

"**Then you shall rot in that cell for all eternity.**" The girl is about to say something, then thinks better of it. What she was going to say would have rotted the ears off a rapper.

"**Meeting adjourned.**" The men stand up and leave, and the man from earlier takes her and Frostwave away.

**Author's Note: Here are the translations for the prologue.  
Ytubdaa – Adoptee, aka not of island birth  
Benydel – Piratic, aka of island birth  
Tnykuh - Dragon  
So, did you like it? It's an ominous beginning to a story, I know, but just think, it'll get better! Lots more humor and drama. Can you guess what I used for Piratian? The first person to review with the correct answer will get an instant favorite on their account and a mention in the next Author's Note. See you next time!  
P.S. REVIEW! Please? *puppy dog eyes* If you don't, the rest of the story won't come out. I want at least one review per chapter. You can do that much, right? Right? Right?! *pause* That's what I thought. Besides, I want to respond to some of you people. It seems like fun to know what others think of my story.**


	2. Chapter 1: Prisoners

**Author's Note: Chapter 1 has come. Whatever will you do? Why, read it, of course! That IS why you're here, right? Well, no matter your answer, I present to you Chapter 1! That is, the true Chapter 1. Oh, and sorry for the late update. I am the ultimate in procrastination (you could say I'm the patron goddess of procrastinators), and I have been working on a bunch of random stories, not all of which are fanfictions. Maybe I'll post them on here eventually. Maybe I'll post them on a different site. And maybe I'll actually let you read the chapter. Who knows?**

**Disclaimer: I own only my OC's and their dialogue. I wish I owned How to Train Your Dragon, but I don't, much to my chagrin.**

_Three years later…_

Adeline's POV

I sat on the cold stone floor of my cell, my legs up against my chest and my arms around me. My blouse had become dirty from the years in here, and my pants weren't much better. The only clean thing on me was my belt buckle, and that was simply a matter of pride. I sighed, but the only one who heard me was Frostwave, who had been moved to my cell after the "trial." She grumbled a bit and opened one crimson eye.

"_Addie, I simply don't see why we don't break out of here. You know the guards are nothing more than piles of fat on sticks wrapped in metal. I could easily defeat them,_" she growled softly. She blew a cloud of ice at my head as if to prove her point. I brushed the snow out of my hair with the ease of years of practice.

"Frostwave, you know why. I'm still missing that last item from my medicine kit," I replied. She grunted in annoyance, but didn't press the issue. I leaned back against the rough stone wall behind me and stared off into space. Meanwhile, Frostwave stretched her long, snaky neck out and flared her fins. Her tail extended in the opposite direction, and she nearly took up the entire cell. Keep in mind that this was the largest cell down here. She stretched her wings, nearly crushing me. When she realized what had happened, she withdrew them and glanced at me abashedly.

"_Sorry,_" she crooned quietly. I shook my head slowly and looked at the iron door keeping us in here. It was a crisscross of rusty iron, and seemed sturdy. Of course, it was on half-barrel hinges, so Frostwave or I could easily lift it out of the frame and ensure our freedom. I cocked my head, greasy hair falling in clumps to the lower side. I could hear footsteps, light and furtive, as if they were afraid of being caught. A young man appeared in the empty squares of the door. In his hands was a small jar of something foul-smelling. I smiled and got up.

"**Thanks**,** Simon,**" I said as warmly as I could for the son of my captor. He smiled back weakly.

"**This is the last one, right?**" he said nervously. Simon glanced around swiftly to make sure no one was watching. He had a black diamond over his right eye, just like his father, the Captain. His black eyes were still full of hope and feeling, though, and none of his teeth were missing. I was sure that many of the other pirate girls on Blackstone were mooning over him, but I only felt the love of a sibling toward him. He was the closest thing I had to a brother here, and that wasn't saying much.

"**Of course it is. Now you can stop acting like a traitor to your father, okay, Simon?**" I answered. He sighed in relief.

"**Thanks, Addie. I hope you get out of here soon. Gale seemed to be up to something the last time I saw him. You'll need to get out of here fast,**" he warned. I nodded.

"**I will. And thanks, Simon. I know I asked a lot of you, but you've been a great friend.**" He flinched very slightly at the word "friend," but was soon back to normal.

"**Of course, Addie. Anything for you, since you're such a good friend of mine,**" he said. I could have sworn I detected a bit of hurt in his voice.

'It's probably just my imagination. Why would Simon not like me calling him my friend?' I thought. He passed the jar through one of the holes and hurried off. I moved away from the door and towards Frostwave. She obligingly lifted a wing to reveal a large white leather bag. I pulled the leather cord loop over the white stone carving and lifted the flap to reveal several more jars like this one, with a gap on the edge. I reverently placed the last jar in the space and closed the kit. She hid it again and curled up.

"**Tomorrow, Frostwave. Tomorrow, we break out,**" I promised her while I climbed into the nest she had made in the center, warm dragon all around me.

"_Good. I'm tired of this place,_" she crooned sleepily. Soon, I could hear soft snoring coming from her, and decided to follow her example by falling asleep.

3rd Person POV: Hiccup

Toothless and Hiccup were out on a flight around the island. They were relaxing peacefully in the waning light, and all seemed right with the world. Of course, that's when things took a turn for the worse, because life is "funny" that way. A huge iron net made of chains shot out of nowhere and wrapped around them, pinning Hiccup to the Night Fury's back and preventing Toothless from flying away.

They plummeted to the ocean, and were only saved by a boat that had come up quickly. Hiccup sighed in relief, because he thought it was a Berkian boat. His relief was short-lived. A rag was shoved into his mouth and tied behind his head, and a shackle was shoved through the net and around his hands.

"Famm, famm, famm," a man drawled. His voice was colder than a winter on Berk, slicker than fish oil, and more malevolent than the Red Death. Hiccup squirmed around and managed to get a good look at the man who had spoken. His hair was black, and it was slicked back from his face. Emotionless black eyes stared down at Hiccup condescendingly. A red triangle tattoo covered his right eye. He knelt down and looked at Toothless.

"Fryd ryja fa rana? Dra Lybdyeh femm pa bmaycat du caa y Night Fury yht edc netan eh rec bnecuh. Fuimth'd oui cyo cu, puoc?" he said, dark pleasure dripping from every strange word. The men around him, each with a tattoo over their right eyes, nodded or said, "Oac." He reached out a hand to touch Toothless's head, but he reared back and did his best to roar at the man. Hiccup glared at this man. His face filled with apology.

"Oh, but where are my manners? I am Gale, head of the House of Winds of Blackstone Island," he said, bowing theatrically. Hiccup's face paled and Gale smirked.

"Ah, I see you have heard of my home. Tell me, how much would you like to see it?" Hiccup glared at him.

"Oh, that's right, you can't talk right now," he said snidely. He wordlessly gestured one of the men over, and they took off the gag.

"Why are you doing this to us?" he said angrily. Gale smiled and shook his head slowly, as if Hiccup were a child who had asked a ridiculous question.

"Because anyone who rides dragons is an affront to all humanity," he hissed. Something flickered in his eyes: hatred, and… was that sorrow? It vanished as quickly as it appeared and left Hiccup questioning himself. He stood up and motioned to the other man. The gag was shoved into his mouth. More men came over and dragged them down below.

They laid there for hours, listening to the men talk in their weird language and the sound of waves against the wooden hull. Hiccup managed to work the gag off, but he knew better than to try to call for help. Finally, they reached their destination: Blackstone Island, home to some of the most infamous pirates in the archipelago. The hatch above their heads was lifted up, and torchlight flooded the captive duo. More men, and even a few women, were looking down at them.

"Famm, huf, fryd tet oui pnehk dra Lybdyeh, Gale? Y haf duo vin dra ynahy?" one of the women said. She got a better look at Hiccup and Toothless and snickered.

"Ra fuimth'd mycd y sehida ykyehcd Adeline," she said. The men around her nodded thoughtfully.

"Pid E pad dryd tnykuh fuimt tu helamo. Nekrd, puoc?" Most said, "Oac" or "Oac, Greta." Others simply glared at Toothless and Hiccup. Some of the men from the ship jumped down, connected hooks to the chain net, and held on tight.

"Ruecd ran ib!" one shouted. Some machinery out of sight started clanking and the two of them were lifted out of the hold. Hiccup gaped at the size of the pirate fleet. There seemed to be almost a hundred ships, and while most were the size of your average Viking longship, some, like the one they had been captured by, were four times that size. A crowd of pirates, each with their own tattoo, watched them be moved from the bowels of the ship to a large cage. The pirate men unhooked the net and were lifted out of it by the hooks. The top of the cage clanged down and was locked in place by a few more pirates.

"There must be hundreds out there, bud," Hiccup whispered to Toothless. The crowd muttered to itself. Suddenly, it hushed and parted. Revealed at the end of the corridor of people was a man, probably as old as Stoick. His hair was greasy black, and his left eye was covered by a piece of black fabric on a string. His right eye glittered evilly under the black diamond tattoo. The man smiled and showed a few gold teeth among even fewer real teeth.

"Fro, Gale, tet oui pnehk sa y bnacahd? Ruf druikrdvim uv oui," he growled. His voice was raspy, probably because of the pipe hanging from his belt. Hiccup could hear the malevolence in every word. The man hobbled forward on a bladed peg leg and stopped. He looked Hiccup and Toothless down, but stopped at his metal leg and fin. He whirled around.

"Tet oui drehg dryd y lnebbma fuimt syga y kuut vekrdan eh dra ynahy?!" he yelled at Gale. Even this cold man was frightened. The man gestured at Hiccup and Toothless.

"Muug yd dras! Dra puo ryc y bak mak, yht dra tnykuh ryc y vyga veh! Fryd fana oui drehgehk?" he shouted angrily. Gale cringed under the onslaught of words.

"E teth'd drehg ra fyc lnebbmat frah E lyikrd res," he muttered. The other man glared at him to be silent. When Gale had shut up, the man looked back at Hiccup.

"Welcome to Blackstone Island, boy. Try to get used to it; it's gonna be your home for a while," he sneered. Spittle flew into Hiccup's face.

"I'm the Captain. You'll be answering to me while you're here, so get used to it. Take him away," the Captain said to some pirates nearby. They pushed against the cage, its wheels squealing a bit before rolling smoothly along. They carted them away to a large iron grate over a cell.

**Author's Note: Behold, the translations! (cue dramatic fanfare)  
****Famm, famm, famm – Well, well, well (what have we here?)  
Fryd ryja fa rana? Dra Lybdyeh femm pa bmaycat du caa y Night Fury yht edc netan eh rec bnecuh. Fuimth'd oui cyo cu, puoc? - What have we here? The Captain will be pleased to see a Night Fury and its rider in his prison. Wouldn't you say so, boys?  
Oac – Yes  
Famm, huf, fryd tet oui pnehk dra Lybdyeh, Gale? Y haf duo vin dra ynahy? - Well, now, what did you bring the Captain, Gale? A new toy for the arena?  
Ra fuimth'd mycd y sehida ykyehcd Adeline – He wouldn't last a minute against Adeline  
Pid E pad dryd tnykuh fuimt tu helamo. Nekrd, puoc? - But I bet that dragon would do nicely. Right, boys?  
Ruecd ran ib! - Hoist her up!  
Fro, Gale, tet oui pnehk sa y bnacahd? Ruf druikrdvim uv oui – Why, Gale, did you bring me a present? How thoughtful of you  
Tet oui drehg dryd y lnebbma fuimt syga y kuut vekrdan eh dra ynahy?! - Did you think that a cripple would make a good fighter in the arena?!  
Muug yd dras! Dra puo ryc y bak mak, yht dra tnykuh ryc y vyga veh! Fryd fana oui drehgehk? - Lood at them! The boy has a peg leg, and the dragon has a fake fin! What were you thinking?  
E teth'd drehg ra fyc lnebbmat frah E lyikrd res – I didn't think he was crippled when I caught him  
****Yeah, I know it's a lot to take in. And things aren't looking too good for Hiccup and Toothless, are they? But don't fret. Guess who they're going to meet in the next chapter. (hears responses) No, Fred, they aren't going to meet the Easter Bunny. Although...  
Adeline: Run, everyone! She's having an idea!  
Wild Cat 214: Now that's just rude.  
Adeline: Hey, you never said I was polite. Think about how you made me.  
Wild Cat 214: (thinks back) Oh, God.  
Adeline: Look who's being rude now.  
Anyways, again, sorry about the SUPER late update. Tech problems, internet availability, and my own personality all combined into several months of no posts. Please R&amp;R. Your patronage is appreciated.**

**Wild Cat 214, out!**


	3. Chapter 2: Cellmates

****Author's Note: Hiccup and Adeline meet at last. Oh, the horror! Don't worry. They're going to be stuck in that cell for a week, at the most... (cue Kodachi laugh) That gave me an idea. I'm going to do the next six chapters as the next six days they're in the cell! What do you think? If you're wondering, yes, this is going to be a HiccupxOC story (point for MMM!). But it's going to take awhile for them to get together. Adeline has some issues to work through first.****

****Adeline: Hey! Spoilers!****

****By the way, Hiccup is captured a day after Adeline receives the final piece of her medicine kit. That's why she's waking up at the beginning. She was asleep when he was caught in Gale's net. I'm only putting this in for clarification.****

****Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD. Just my OC's. Sorry.****

__Day 1__

Adeline's POV

A noise woke me up that day. A squealing, painful sound, almost the audile embodiment of agony, was getting louder. I listened carefully to the sound of the Cage. Its wheels were almost as familiar to me as my face. I cocked my head as it came steadily closer.

'Some poor soul's been captured,' I thought sadly. That was all it was used for nowadays, carting prisoners from the Lydlr-crebc to the dungeon and from the dungeon to the arena. They never came back to the dungeon or the Lydlr-crebc. Something blocked the light from our cell's grate and I looked up. The Cage was positioned over it, and there was something large in it. Something black… I heard the scream of rust on rust as the grate was removed. We couldn't get out that way, though, because it was blocked by the Cage. The Cage screeched as its bottom was slid out swiftly, and the black thing fell into our cell. I heard a grunt, or… was that __two__ grunts? It wriggled around, and I tensed.

When I saw that it was no threat to me, I relaxed a bit. I noticed that its top was still wiggling around, and I could hear someone muttering to the larger thing.

"It's okay, Toothless. Everything will be all right. We just need to find a way out of this net, okay, bud?" a young man said. I craned my head and tried to see who had said that. All I could see was brown fur and hair, pale skin, and green and brown cloth, all against a black and brown background. A flash of red caught my eye, and I noticed the prosthetic tail fin connected to the black thing. It growled, and Frostwave lifted her head in shock.

"__That's not possible__," she hissed. Something had her spooked. I didn't know what species the black thing was, but it was definitely a dragon. It thrashed about wildly, but the chains kept it bound. I took the chance to try and speak to Frostwave.

"****What is it, girl?****" I said quietly. Almost immediately after I did, the dragon froze, and not because Frostwave had breathed on him. Now I could see who had spoken. A young man, with freckles over most of his face, was gaping at me. I slowly edged around to my Silver Horror and stood in front of her.

3rd Person POV: Hiccup

Hiccup watched a dirty girl carefully walk over to the big silver-white shape he had seen when he and Toothless had fallen into the cell. She brushed her greasy brown hair out of her face and revealed a light blue star over her right eye. A filthy "white" shirt covered most of her upper body, and black pants protected the rest of her. Grimy brown boots covered her feet, with dirty cream fur trim keeping her feet warm. The only clean thing was a shiny silver buckle. A five-pointed star was carved into the center, with five six-petaled flowers around it.

He looked into her face through the chains and could see wonder written all over it. Hiccup decided to try something.

"Hey, uh, excuse me? Can you get us out of here?" he called out to her. She cocked her head to the right and pulled something out of her belt. It was a piece of metal, thin and pointy, like a needle, and it gleamed in the light from above. Hiccup widened his eyes.

"What are you going to do with that?" he said uneasily. The girl seemed to be very good at using this thing, and from what he had heard of Blackstone pirates, they weren't especially keen on preserving their prisoners. The girl came forward, with the white dragon growling softly.

Its head was triangular, with a small nose and large eyes. A V-shaped horn started just above its nostrils and flared out over the rest of its head. Fins along its eyebrow region were flared out and accented its crimson eyes. It raised its head and revealed an extremely long, thin neck. The dragon's wings were similar to Toothless's, but were much larger and didn't have the same mottled pattern. Instead they had a smooth, snowy expanse of skin covering the bones. Four wiry legs supported its lithe frame and ended in four razor-sharp black claws, which, surprisingly, slid in and out like Toothless's teeth. A whip-like tail curled around it, with one fin on the tip. The fin had a spear-like bony growth on the tip of the central bone, and it seemed sharp enough to take off anyone's head.

The dragon opened its mouth slightly, revealing three rows of tiny, serrated black teeth. Instead of flames in its mouth, though, a cloud of mist formed with every exhalation and coated the teeth in frost. Heat shimmered off of its scales and made the room uncomfortably hot. The girl ignored it and crept closer. Toothless began to growl, but she reached into one of the pouches on her belt and pulled out some dried blue and white flowers. She held them out to him, and he relaxed against the floor, crooning happily. She smiled and revealed shockingly white teeth. Once Toothless was subdued, she looked at him sharply.

"Rumt cdemm. E haat du ihmulg dra had, yht ev oui suja, oui sekrd kad rind. Ihtancdyht?" she said quietly, as if afraid someone above them was going to hear. Hiccup looked at her in confusion. The girl groaned dramatically.

"Y Viking. Fro tuac ra ryja du pa y Viking?" she said, looking at the ceiling. He only recognized "Viking" in those sentences; the rest was gibberish. She cleared her throat.

"H-hello," the girl said quietly. "I'm Addie. Now, don't move, because I need to get that net off of you two and if you so much as twitch you might get hurt, savvy?" Hiccup nodded and did his best to avoid moving. Addie came over and started fiddling with the lock, jamming the needle into the hole and wiggling it around until it finally clicked. The chains physically loosened and she helped work them off.

"There we go. That's better. Now, what are you two doing in here? They've never given me cellmates before. And what's your name?" Hiccup sat up and pulled his leg out of the stirrup and patted Toothless on the head.

"Uh, I'm Hiccup, and this is Toothless." The girl smiled hesitantly, then seemed to warm up to them as her dragon came forward curiously.

Adeline's POV

Frostwave was sniffing Toothless curiously, and her body language told me she was both amazed and shocked.

"****What is it**, Frostwave?**" I whispered reproachfully. She managed to tear herself away from the inspection to give me a report.

"__He's a Night Fury! I didn't know one still existed!__" she growled excitedly. I gave her a blank look.

"****...And? What about it?****" Frostwave blew a cloud of ice at my hair, and I brushed it out automatically.

"__If he exists, maybe there are other Silver Horrors. I mean, I thought all the Night Furies in the Barbaric Archipelago had disappeared years ago, just like the other Silver Horrors! We could look for them together!__" she crooned ecstatically. I sighed, but I wanted to believe it too. Maybe there were other Silver Horrors out there, beyond the Archipelago, but I wasn't likely to find them anytime soon. That was when I noticed Hiccup was staring at me like I was crazy. I chuckled nervously and smiled faintly.

"Ooookay. Um, Addie? Were you just having a conversation with your dragon? And is, um, her name Frostwave?" he asked warily. I looked at Frostwave, who shrugged like she thought I should handle this on my own. I gave her a "gee, thanks" look and turned back to Hiccup.

3rd Person POV: Hiccup

"Okay, the truth is, I can... understand some of what she says. I don't really get it myself, but she says it has something to do with a bond," Addie said anxiously. He nodded slowly.

"What sort of bond?" She listened to the dragon's growls, which sounded very different from any other dragon he had ever heard. It almost sounded like what she and the other pirates had been speaking earlier, but with a few growls, hisses, snarls, and other inhuman noises. It stopped, and she looked back at him.

"Frostwave says it's a special bond between rider and dragon that only forms between one person and one dragon, and that only Silver Horrors have this ability. It's part of what makes them so loyal. At least, that's what __she__ says. Personally, I don't know if she's just saying that to make herself look better. I mean, she's the only Silver Horror I know," Addie explained for Frostwave, the Silver Horror. That species sounded familiar, like he had read or heard it somewhere before. It crooned chidingly at her, and she groaned.

"Frostwave, ev E ryja du gelg oui, E femm," she threatened sweetly. Frostwave looked at her face and started to inch away, which didn't really help given their close quarters. Toothless crooned at her, and she responded with a grumpy growl, making him shrink back. Wow. If Toothless was scared of this dragon in a bad mood, how bad would she be when she was mad? Addie walked over to him and stuck out her hand.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Hiccup. And nice to finally have some company in here. I was getting a little tired of listening to Frostwave rant about the quality of food they give her," she confided. Hiccup smiled and looked around. Judging by the fact that Toothless had to curl up his tail in order to fit in, he estimated that the cell was about 20 feet long and 15 feet wide. Probably the biggest they had here, but with two dragons in it the cell was tiny. Addie saw him looking around and patted him on the back.

"I hate to break it to you, Hiccup, but there is no way out of this cell. Not an easy way, anyways. The grate up there is locked on the outside, and I can't reach it even with Frostwave's help. The door can easily be lifted out..." she said thoughtfully.

"But? I'm sensing a but."

"There are at least a dozen guards, and now that you're here I have someone else to worry about. Sorry, two someones," she corrected, glancing at Toothless when he let out an expectant hum. Addie reached back into her pouch and pulled out more of those strange blue and white flowers. Toothless and Frostwave looked at them happily, and she gave some of them to both dragons, who then proceeded to lay around in a dreamy daze.

Adeline's POV

"What is that plant? I've never seen it before," Hiccup asked curiously. I smirked and pulled out two more. He held out a hand and I cautiously placed them in his palm. He raised it to his face and looked at them curiously.

"You want to know what they are? They're dragon nip flowers. They're pretty hard to find, mostly because they only flower for a short time, but the dried flowers are stronger than normal dragon nip. It also tastes pretty good as a tea and helps with sleeping problems," I told him bluntly. He nodded and handed them back. Awkward silence passed between us, punctuated with the blissful hums of Frostwave and Toothless and the occasional far-off noise of the rest of Blackstone's inhabitants. I sat down against her side, and Hiccup did the same with Toothless.

"So... you're a dragon rider?" he said out of nowhere. I gave him an incredulous look. It hung in the air between us until finally we both started laughing like idiots.

"What was that?" I managed to get out between chuckles. "'So... you're a dragon rider?' What kind of conversation starter is that?" Hiccup shook his head in mirth.

"Sorry! I just didn't know what else to ask you," he exclaimed, the odd giggle escaping between words. I wiped a few tears from my eyes and smiled at him.

"Well, yes, Hiccup, I am a dragon rider. How about you? Or is that dragon just for show?" I countered playfully. He grinned.

"Why, yes, Addie, I am also a dragon rider." We sat like that, still snickering occasionally, when Frostwave looked up in alarm. I twisted around to look at her.

"****What is it, girl?****" I asked worriedly. She started to growl, so low it was more of a vibration than a noise. I shot to my feet and looked at the cell door. Now I could hear footsteps, one person's. Hate rose to the front of my mind. I knew those feet. Oh, how I knew them. The owner appeared behind the crisscrossing bars of the door, his black eyes glittering cruelly underneath his black hair and red triangle.

"Gale," I hissed. Hiccup stood up and went to stand beside me. Gale tilted his head to the side thoughtfully.

"****Oh, how sweet. The two dragon riders are friends now. I suppose you bonded over dragons, eh**, Adeline**?****" he drawled. I glared at him.

"****What do you want, **Gale**?****" I replied coldly. He raised his hands in surrender.

"****You got me. The Captain wants to see your little friend there.****" I looked at him in shock.

"****But new prisoners get a week before their initiation! It's island law!****" I exclaimed. Gale shook his head.

"****It has nothing to do with his initiation. The Captain just wants to ask him a few... questions. Once they're done, I'll escort him back myself. I swear on ******Odin******'s beard,****" Gale promised. I didn't like it, but I had no choice but to trust his word. Even if he was an oily snake of a man. He unlocked the door, walked inside calmly, and grabbed Hiccup's arm. He tried to break free, but I put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hiccup, just go with him. You'll be back soon. They just want to ask you a few questions," I explained as calmly as I could. He didn't look convinced, but something in my eyes must have persuaded him to stop resisting.

"****That's better. Maybe we should ask you to calm all the other prisoners down before taking them in for questioning,****" Gale said victoriously. I glared at him.

"****Yeah, how about when**** **Ragnarok **comes? Maybe then I'll do it for someone like you,****" I replied viciously. He took it in stride and dragged Hiccup with him out of the cell. The door clicked shut, and I was left behind, locked in with two dragons.

3rd Person POV: Hiccup

The halls of Blackstone Island's tunnel society were rough, but not the kind of rough that humans made. No, this was more... natural. They marched past dozens of other cell doors, some occupied, some ominously vacant. Soon, they came to a large metal door with a portcullis made of cold, black iron, just like Gale's heart. A pair of green eyes appeared in the small slot in the door and saw the two of them. They disappeared moments later, only to be revealed as belonging to a woman in charge of the door and gate. The former swung open toward her, and the latter rose with a squeal.

"You should really oil that thing," Hiccup said casually. They glared at him and pushed him inside the dark room. Torches were lit in a ring, starting behind him and ending behind a huge stone throne. On it rested the man Hiccup had met earlier. The Captain (by the way, if this had taken place several centuries later, he would have been on a comfy leather swivel chair, slowly spun around to face him, and have been petting a grumpy white cat like the criminal mastermind he was).

"Welcome, prisoner, to your interrogation," he said darkly.

__Half an hour later...__

Hiccup was fed up with all these questions. Were there others like him? No comment. Where was he from? No comment. Why was he flying around on a dragon? No comment. He was pretty sure the Captain and Gale were irritated by his lack of answers as well. Finally, after one more no comment (what is the capital of Assyria?), Gale slammed his fist down on a stone slab in front of him.

"Ahuikr! Mad sa yd rel! E lyh kad rel du damm ic fryd fa fyhd du ghuf!" he shouted, his voice laden with frustration. The Captain raised an eyebrow at his tone of voice, but didn't say anything. Gale whirled on poor Hiccup and threw something. He felt a flash of pain in his side and looked down. His tunic had been cut on his left side, and red was starting to seep into the thick wool.

"Gale! Tu hud rynl dra bnecuhan! Fa haat rel ymeja!" the Captain roared terrifyingly. The younger man seemed to shrink beneath this verbal onslaught, and while Hiccup could only understand the word "Gale," he did understand that what he had done was very bad. Gale walked sulkily over to him and grabbed the knife that was lying on the floor, its blade wet with a tiny bit of crimson fluid. Hiccup pressed a hand to the small cut, but already he was starting to feel a little lightheaded.

"Bid rel pylg eh rec lamm. Dra haqd dela drec rybbahc, ed'mm pa oui kuenk ehdu dryd lamm," the Captain growled. Gale saluted and pulled Hiccup back to his and Addie's cell.

Adeline's POV

Hiccup was shoved back inside and fell face first onto the hard stone floor. I ran over to his side and glared at Gale. He glared back and left, locking the door carefully. I helped Hiccup sit up and looked at him. He was very pale, more so than he should have been.

"Hey, you alright?" I asked, looking at him. He smiled, but that was when I saw him cringe. I looked down to see the red stain on his tunic. I moved his hand and gasped softly.

"Did Gale do this?" I demanded. Hiccup nodded. My face paled, and that made him look worried.

"What is it? Addie, what's wrong?" he asked. I left him there and ran five feet across the room to Frostwave's side. She lifted her wing and allowed me access to my medicine kit. Hiccup looked over with interest.

"What's that?" I ignored him and pulled out a small jar. It was marked "Gale Antidote" and right now it was the only thing that could save Hiccup. I also grabbed a bundle of bandages and ran back to Hiccup's side.

"Lift up your tunic," I ordered.

"What?!" he replied in surprise. I groaned and pushed him against the floor.

"Frostwave, hold him down," I said over my shoulder. She scurried over and placed her feet on Hiccup's shoulders.

"Addie? What are you doing?" Hiccup asked, a bit worried and scared. I pushed up the green wool and brown fur to reveal a small cut in his side. My face grew grim, but now wasn't the time to lose focus. I opened the jar, scooped out a dollop of a sage green gel, and started rubbing it into the wound.

"OW! That hurts!" he complained. I gave him a sarcastic look.

"Well, it's better than dying in agony. Now hold still! I need to wrap the bandages around the wound and protect it," I commanded, holding up the bundle. He relaxed and helped me by moving to different sides when I needed to get it behind him, and soon his cut was covered.

"Now, tell me why you had to do that," he asked, sitting up and pulling his tunic back down. I sighed.

"Gale puts a special poison on his knives. I happen to be the only one with the antidote, and thanks to my friend, Simon, I was able to have it with me. Unfortunately, there's a catch."

"What? And please don't tell me you don't have enough antidote in case he uses his knives again," Hiccup groaned. I shook my head.

"I need to give you five more doses, or else there will be enough poison left in your bloodstream to kill you. And I can't give them to you all at once, or else the antidote will end up poisoning you," I explained grimly. Hiccup took this in silently.

"So I guess I'm stuck with you for a while, then."

"Yup. Although, if you want to, you can escape with me," I suggested hopefully. He smiled.

"Yeah, I think I'll take you up on that offer. But first, we're going to need a way to escape." I waved his concerns off.

"Don't worry. I've got a plan." That seemed to assuage his fears, for the moment. Eventually, dinner arrived in the form of rabbit stew and raw salmon for the humans and dragons respectively. We talked over dinner about our dragons and their funny habits, and soon it was time to sleep. I curled up inside Frostwave's coiled body.

"__You don't have a plan, do you,__" she said. It was a statement, not a question. I sighed.

"****Nope. But what else was I supposed to tell him? He was about to die! I couldn't just say, 'Oh, by the way, I have no idea how we're going to get out!' Don't worry,**** **Frostwave.** I'll think of something. Just... give me a few days.****" She grunted, but I could tell she was going to let it rest. For now.

For the next few minutes, until I fell asleep, my mind raced with different escape plans. One after the other, they were rejected, and my tired brain finally decided to shut down.

****Author's Notes: Your translations are served.****

****Lydlr-crebc – Catch-ships; in other words, the ships that go out to capture, kidnap, or otherwise forcibly acquire new inhabitants for the island.****

****Rumt cdemm. E haat du ihmulg dra had, yht ev oui suja, oui sekrd kad rind. Ihtancdyht? - Hold still. I need to unlock the net, and if you move, you might get hurt. Understand?****

****Y Viking. Fro tuac ra ryja du pa y Viking? - A Viking. Why does he have to be a Viking?****

****Frostwave, ev E ryja du gelg oui, E femm – Frostwave, if I have to kick you, I will****

****Ahuikr! Mad sa yd rel! E lyh kad rel du damm ic fryd fa fyhd du ghuf! – Enough! Let me at him! I can get him to tell us what we want to know!****

****Gale! Tu hud rynl dra bnecuhan! Fa haat rel ymeja! – Gale! Do not harm the prisoner! We need him alive!****

****Bid rel pylg eh rec lamm. Dra haqd dela drec rybbahc, ed'mm pa oui kuenk ehdu dryd lamm – Put him back in his cell. The next time this happens, it'll be you going into that cell; in other words, if Gale does something like that again, he'll join Adeline in her cell, and that won't have a happy ending****

****Yeah, yeah, I know, it's long. The next one is as well. You have been warned. So, what did you think of that last little scene? Adeline pushing Hiccup down onto the floor, telling him to pull his tunic up. I wonder what was going through his head when she did that, you know, being a hormonal teenage boy ;)********What do you think? Also, some explanations will occur in the next chapter, to clarify just where the Blackstone pirates came from, a brief history of the Silver Horrors, and Adeline getting caught up on recent events in Berk's history. Adeline will show her softer side in the next chapter, as well. How, you may ask? Read, to learn all about it. Please R&amp;R. Your input is much appreciated.****

****Wild Cat 214, out!****


	4. Chapter 3: Histories

**Author's Notes: So, for those of you wondering about how Blackstone came into being, I'm telling you right now, it'll be a giant hint for what Benydeyh really is. But you have to have played a certain game before to understand what it is. Otherwise, it'll make absolutely no sense when Frostwave and Adeline are talking about the island's history. And come on, people. This is the third time I've mentioned the reward for naming the original name of Benydeyh. And maybe I'll throw in some delicious READER COOKIES. They're this magical dessert that takes on the form and taste of your favorite type of cookie.**

**P.S. Thank you, MMM, for commenting for the most recent chapters. You are probably one of my favorite people as I type this. Now all you have to do is ****_favorite_**** the story and you'll be the BEST PERSON EVER!**

**P.P.S. Adeline and Hiccup didn't get any food yesterday. Think how hungry they must be. Heh heh heh.**

**P.P.P.S. I've also decided to make this a three-part storyline, with this one beginning with Part 1: Ice, continuing with Part 2: Fire, and ending with Part 3: Clash, corresponding to the three stories. I'm thinking of calling the next story Burnt Ice, and then... I don't know. Frozen Flames will cover from Legend of the Boneknapper, through Gift of the Night Fury and Riders, to the end of Defenders, Burning Ice will cover from Race to the Edge to the end of the second movie, and the third story, which I shall do my best to write sometime in... oh, I'd say 2018, which hopefully the rest of Race to the Edge, the next season, and the third movie will have come out by then. Just something to look forward to. Okay, I'll stop adding postscripts.**

**Disclaimer: E tuh'd ufh RDDOT un edc lrylydanc. Uhmo so UL'c.**

**(I don't own HTTYD or its characters. Only my OC's.)**

_Day 2_

Adeline's POV

I woke up to a prickling feeling on the back of my neck. Warily, I peeped through slits to see Hiccup staring at me vacantly. Well, that explained the feeling of being watched. I shuffled around self-consciously and pushed myself up.

"What is it? Is there something on my face? _Please_ don't tell me I was drooling," I said, aghast at the mere thought. Hiccup blinked and his eyes focused on me.

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing. I was just thinking about what you said yesterday. Why did you decide to be both a healer and a blacksmith? Wouldn't that give you more work?" he asked thoughtfully. I turned away to stare at the pool of torchlight from above.

"It's because I'm an Ytubdaa, Hiccup. An Adoptee. I wasn't born on Blackstone. I chose two jobs because I felt the need to prove myself, to show that I wasn't some poor little girl who needed special treatment because of which family I was taken into. I had to be the best fighter, the best hunter, the best healer, the best pirate! Because if I was the best, maybe they'd accept me..." I trailed off, thinking about how lonely my childhood had been. Bitterly, I considered the fact that I had tried so hard for people that didn't care about me, like a puppy seeking affection from a heartless master. And maybe that's what I was, at first. Until I met Frostwave.

I smiled ruefully.

"I know, it probably sounds crazy. But I just wanted to be treated like everyone else, instead of 'that Ytubdaa girl.'" Hiccup shook his head.

"No, no, I get it. I was the same way when I was younger. Actually, I was the same way until I met Toothless." I tried not to smile.

"Oh? How did that happen?" Hiccup rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"It's kind of a long story. It started a few weeks ago, during a dragon raid. You see, all my life I had wanted to be the first to kill a Night Fury, because that would have proven I wasn't just a mistake. When I shot him down, well, I'm not ashamed to say I was proud of myself. I was the first Viking to take down a Night Fury, in a village that adored dragon killing. But when I found him in the woods, I just... couldn't. I couldn't kill him. No, I wouldn't kill him. Because when I looked at him, I saw myself. I saw someone who was just as scared and alone as I was. I cut him free, and instead of killing me, he let me go." I smiled at the thought of that.

"Well, at least you survived. Not many can claim that. So, was that before or after he lost his tail fin?" Hiccup blushed.

"...After. Anyways, I started trying to learn more about him, and what I learned helped me in dragon training. Keep in mind that this was training on how to kill dragons, not ride them. But because of things I learned from Toothless, I became top of the class. Soon, I had managed to create a saddle and new fin for him, and we would fly together after lessons. But when I was chosen to kill the Monstrous Nightmare, I wanted to leave with him and never come back. I was persuaded not to, and that led to us eventually fighting this gigantic dragon called the Red Death. I won't bore you with the details, but my father accepted that dragons weren't all bad, we fought the Red Death with the help of the dragons kept in the arena, and I lost my leg in the explosion from killing it." The grin on my face disappeared.

"Wait, what? There was an explosion? Hiccup, why didn't you tell me this sooner? I love explosions! Even if they are caused by giant dragons and make someone lose their leg," I added, looking at the piece of metal at the end of his foot. He nodded.

"I like to think of it as Toothless getting me back for making him lose his tail. Besides, it helped bring dragons and Vikings together, so it's a small price to pay. I could have lost my life." I nodded and put a hand on his shoulder.

"And then I would never have met you. So I'd say it's a pretty nice deal," I said, looking at the metal and wood at the end of his leg. He smiled, then waved his hand around to show the cell.

"So, how about you? What changed? I mean, I'm pretty sure the best fighter doesn't just get thrown in jail for no reason," he said, gesturing at me. I smirked at the memory.

"Oh, I just happened to run into Frostwave. Well, I say ran into, but it's more like _she_ crashed into _me_. You see, I was about twelve, and I had just gotten my tattoo marking me as an adult, because on Blackstone, when you turn twelve you're old enough to do a lot of the same work as the older people. Anyways, I was actually gathering dragon nip flowers in a large patch just beyond the pnyspma-puihtaneac when she caught scent of the plant and decided it was a good idea to roll around in it."

"_It _was_ a good idea,_" Frostwave interjected. "_I met you, didn't I?_" I patted her side.

"So there I was, twelve years old, with a bandage on my face to keep the tattoo safe, and all of a sudden a giant silver-white shape just drops from the sky and nearly crushes me. Needless to say, I was scared out of my wits, but I couldn't do anything because of her pinning me down. After a good roll in the nip, she finally noticed me and got off." I chuckled at the memory.

"And then she froze me in place." Hiccup's mouth dropped.

"What?"

"I know, right? She was the one who was crushing the life out of me, and when she got off she froze me. I almost wet myself. Then Frostwave started sniffing me all over. When she was done investigating me, she growled a funny way. That was when I realized I could understand her." Hiccup nodded.

"And? What did she say?" I paused for dramatic effect.

"...You smell nice. Then she flew away, leaving me to break free and lie about why I was late for dinner. I didn't get any dinner that night, by the way," I said pointedly at Frostwave. She growled out a soft chuckle that was mirrored by my and Hiccup's stomachs rumbling.

"_You didn't get any last night, either. Don't blame me. You know they don't serve food to prisoners on the first day, and that includes their cellmates,_" she crooned.

"I know that. But dinner that night was my favorite. I had been looking forward to it all day." My tongue slipped out and licked my lips in subconscious yearning for that lost meal. It had been smoked salmon with sorrel sauce, and the tenderness of the meat combined with the sourness of the sauce had always been delicious to me. I was aware that Hiccup was shaking, and at first I thought there had been some side effect to being poisoned that I didn't know about. Then I realized he was laughing silently.

"'You smell nice...'" he snickered. Frostwave blew a cloud of frost at him indignantly.

"_Well, she _did_. And it wasn't just the dragon nip! I liked her scent. It was the smell of a friend,_" she protested. Her cries of objection were cut short by the arrival of our breakfast in the hands of a surly guard with a tattoo of a purple six-pointed star. That made him a member of the House of Snows, though seeing that he had to give us food, he probably wasn't high up on the list for promotion to the elite guard of the Captain. The sheet of metal at the bottom of the door slid up, he shoved the food through rudely, and glared at us before walking away.

"What's his problem?" Hiccup asked, walked over and bringing the food back to the three of us. I shrugged, then eyed the food hungrily. It wasn't much, just some stale half-loaves of bread, two not-quite-clean mugs of water, and two bowls of murky soup, but it was something. For the dragons, there were some dried fish and two bowls of water.

"Most guards don't like having prison duty. They'd rather be on the ships of the vmaad than feeding prisoners they despise. Usually, it's just people who take stuff from the Jyimd without permission, or prisoners before initiation. But we're special cases. See, the Blackstone pirates both hate and fear dragons, so encountering two dragon riders, one of which was actually one of them, is like meeting your worst enemy," I explained, biting into a loaf. He grunted to show he was listening and picked up his own bread. We ate in silence, except for when Hiccup asked me what the soup was. I tasted it and told him it was cabbage soup, fresh from the kitchens. He didn't look completely convinced, but I didn't blame him. The cooks of Blackstone are not what you'd call... makers of fine cuisine. Which was kind of funny, because there were a lot of yummy things to find near Blackstone. In fact, if it wasn't inhabited by pirates, this place would be a great spot to vacation in the winter. There were these awesome springs that came out of the ground already hot, lots of greenery, and so much wildlife I nearly had to beat them off with a stick to protect the herbs I gathered personally, which was kind of odd if you considered the fact that we were much farther north than most people dared to live. But who was I to judge the gods' handiwork?

"Cabbage soup," he said, dipping his bread into the liquid and eating the soaked loaf, "Who knew?" I smiled at the comment on the quality.

"Believe me, Hiccup, this is scraps compared to what the people up there are eating." He nodded, and soon the "scraps" were finished off. Frostwave licked tiny bits of fish out from between her teeth quite carefully, the narrow black tongue slipping into the cracks and crevices between each dentition to get the leftovers. Hiccup watched this with interest.

"So, what kind of dragon is Frostwave? I've never seen one before," he asked, gesturing to her curiously. I smirked proudly.

"She's a Silver Horror, one of the most feared dragons on Blackstone." His look of confusion didn't help my cause.

"You've never heard of a Silver Horror?" I sighed in minor disappointment.

"Uh, sadly, no. Granted, I didn't know that Blackstone pirates kept their prisoners alive and reasonably well fed, so I'm interested in learning about them," he conceded. I grinned.

"Well, if there's anything I love doing, it's talking about my dragon," I replied happily.

3rd Person POV: Hiccup

Addie got comfortable against Frostwave's extremely warm side and began informing him on Silver Horrors.

"Frostwave is a Silver Horror, as you know, but there's something else. As far as she knows, she's the last of her kind. Apparently, because of the Blackstone pirates moving in a few centuries ago, her species lost their breeding island and started to decline. That's probably why you've never heard of them. Being a Silver Horror makes her a bit different from other dragons. You've probably been wondering why she's so hot on the outside, but can breathe ice, right? It's this funny thing about her physiology. See, her body needs to vent all its heat onto the outside, or else Frostwave gets too hot to make her ice. Makes it nice for when I'm high up in the freezing air, and I just need something to keep my... Anyways, she's got this stuff in her blood that both keeps her cool and prevents her from freezing to death. I like to call it antifreeze." Hiccup took this in eagerly.

"But how come you can understand her? I've never heard of anyone who can do that," he stated. She shrugged.

"I wish I knew. She says it has something to do with a 'bond' or something that formed between us when we first met, but I don't have any clue what she means by that. What I do know is that I trust her with my life. She's the first thing, human or dragon, who accepted me for who I was on Blackstone. She didn't expect me to be a failure, or a mistake, or just another mouth to feed. Frostwave thought I was someone worth knowing, for once in my life. Now, enough of that. Isn't it time for your next dose?" she said, raising an eyebrow. He smiled nervously.

"Yeah, about that... do you really need to hold me down when you apply it? I kind of like having control over my arms." She shrugged again.

"Okay, but if you want me to mess up while dosing you, it's your death." He was silent.

"Fine, but can I keep the feeling in my arms?" Addie chuckled.

"Sure. Just give me a moment."

Adeline's POV

"Well, it's not like I'm going anywhere," he replied cheekily. I swatted his head lightly and went over to Frostwave. She revealed the medicine kit and allowed me to take the antidote and some bandages from it, then crooned laughingly, "_He's sassy. I like him._" I swatted her, too, right across the nose.

"Don't you start," I warned gently. Green gel and wrappings in hand, I returned to Hiccup's side. Frostwave joined us and retracted her claws before putting her feet on his shoulders.

"Now, are we going to do this the easy way, or will you actually help me this time?" I asked sarcastically. He chuckled dryly in response.

"Oh, very funny. Just warn me when you're about to rub it in. That stuff stings." I had no pity. Sure, it was a little painful, but what was a small amount of pain compared to a big amount of screaming, agonized death? Hiccup lifted the left side of his tunic and revealed the old bandages. They had a greenish tinge to them from the remnants of antidote that hadn't been fully worked in, but that was okay. I unwrapped them carefully, making sure Hiccup wasn't going through too much pain. Hey, I try to be nice to my patients. It makes taking care of them easier. Once they were completely removed, I sniffed the still-open wound. It wasn't bleeding anymore and it smelled healthy, but the skin hadn't covered it yet. Just one of the many _wonderful_ side effects of this poison.

With that cheerful thought in mind, I started to work another dollop of the antidote in. He winced, but I could tell it wasn't as bad as before. Even one dose of the antidote to Gale's Poison helped against that lethal concoction, although it didn't fight it completely. After nearly all of the antidote was worked in, I wrapped new bandages around his waist and let Hiccup get used to them.

I won't bore you with the details, because after that we didn't do anything of interest. We merely swapped tales of our dragons' antics (I told Hiccup about the time I first flew on Frostwave, and he told me about the first time he rode Toothless), ate supper, and went to sleep. Frostwave wrapped herself up into a large ring and I curled up inside. Before we fell asleep, she poked my head with her nose.

"What?" I grumbled sleepily.

"_Do you have that plan yet?_" she asked curiously. I turned red as Toothless's tail fin and gave her a guilty smile. She sighed and blew another cloud of ice into my hair, making me brush it out automatically.

"_You know you have to think of one soon. Initiation for him is happening in five days, and I'm pretty sure you don't want that for him. Do you? Do you want him to go through that?_" I shook my head against her coiled body.

"**...Tomorrow. I'll think of something tomorrow. Give me that, please.**" Frostwave huffed cool air into my face, but let it go. For now. She placed her head on my belly and let out a relaxed sigh before falling asleep. I softly stroked the horn arcing up her head and flaring out into two parts. There were fine ridges along it, and they gave it a very silky feel that made me calm down enough to sleep.

"Good night, everyone," I whispered quietly into the night. The torches were dimmed above us, and soon the pool of warm light faded away into blissful, secretive darkness. Soon, I succumbed to that darkness and fell asleep.

**Author's Notes: Your translations, mesdames, ****mesdamoiselles****, ****et ****monsieurs.**

**Pnyspma-puihtaneac – bramble-boundaries; where the pirates have set the borders for their people to go on the island. It's basically a long wall of thorny bushes with a few holes in it.**

**Vmaad – fleet**

**Jyimd – Vault; where they keep the valuables they take, or confiscated items if necessary**

**Yeah, I know, this was REALLY long, but aren't you glad you read it? Supplied some backstory for Adeline and Frostwave. And I've decided to move the chapter on the pirates to the next one. Poor Simon. That was originally going to be his chapter, but I've decided to move it to Chapter 6.**

**Wild Cat 214, out!**


	5. Chapter 4: Pirates

**Author's Notes: This is the one that will provide the most hints for what Benydeyh really is. You have been warned! It will mostly be Gale thinking back on the early days, along with Adeline and Hiccup discussing the plan. I hope this helps you understand some of what the pirates are doing here, and why they threw Adeline and Hiccup into the cell. Also, some small development between Hiccup and Adeline. Nothing major, just their relationship growing a tiny bit. It's amazing what spending three days locked in a room with someone can do.**

**So, I'm at Tus-con as I publish this, because my mom is one of the Guests of Honor. It's a small convention, but since it takes place near where I live and my mom sends art every year, we usually go. It also happens on Halloween weekend, so the hotel lobby has candy and decorations befitting the occasion and there are themed treats in the Con Suite that are pretty tasty, if I do say so myself.**

**Originally, I was going to make this a story about Hiccup and Toothless being kidnapped and taken to a city where they must race for their freedom alongside other dragon riders, and it was going to be called Frozen Thunder because her race team was called the Thunder Riders, but eventually it evolved and changed into this. I was even going to feature dragons from all over the world alongside a few that Hiccup was familiar with, but that was scrapped. Maybe I'll put them in later... I think they would like that. But enough drabble.**

**P.S. I've decided to start reminding you people to R&amp;R up here. I mean, it's kind of pointless to tell you to Read and Review at the bottom, when you've probably already read the chapter. So yeah, without further "adieu" :P...**

**Please R&amp;R! Your input is very much appreciated.**

**Disclaimer: Alas, I own not the HTTYD franchise. All I can lay claim to are my OC's.**

_Day 3_

Adeline's POV

This time, I woke up to loud people talking above us. It was Mapmahl, Unse, Mukuc, and her little cronies, talking directly above us. Maybe they didn't know we were here. Maybe they didn't care. Or maybe they were just stupid and decided that blabbing wherever they wanted was a good idea. I was leaning toward the latter, because they didn't even bother to hide the fact that they were talking about me.

"**Hey, that stupid **Ytubdaa**'s monthly hearing is tomorrow. What do you think she'll say?**" Unse asked the others. They all laughed annoyingly. Gods, I was glad I wasn't part of their Household. They were people on the lower rungs of the House of Flames, a house known for being, well, annoying. It was how they were raised. Apparently, some wise guy a few centuries ago had decided that his family was going to be the most irritating of all, and true to his wishes they had carried on that _weighty legacy_.

"**Well, knowing her, she'll probably say the usual 'Oh, I can't kill that monster! It's my friend!' spiel she always gives the Council. I don't see why the Captain doesn't just execute her and the **tnykuh**,**" Mukuc spat. They all grunted in agreement with him.

"**You know it's because he's still holding out hope that the **Ytubdaa** will change her mind. He practically said so when he announced her punishment at the weekly gathering,**" Mapmahl countered. There were murmurs of affirmation as the others saw the sense in her words.

I didn't hear what they said after that, because the seed of an idea was starting to grow in my mind. A wide smile spread across my face.

'Oh, Mapmahl, you just helped us get out of here,' I thought gleefully. The need to fill Hiccup in was growing, so I hurried over to his side and shook him awake.

"What? What?" he groaned, trying to bat me away. I poked his cheek excitedly.

"Hiccup! I know how we're going to get out of here!" I told him joyfully. That woke him up the rest of the way, and even Toothless looked up with interest. The two of them watched as I crossed my legs and started to talk about it.

3rd Person POV: Gale

Gale walked down the halls calmly, thinking about the hearing tomorrow and how that brat Adeline was going to act. He sneered inwardly. The stupid girl had sided with a dragon, the greatest enemy of Blackstone Island. As far as he was concerned, she deserved to be executed. And she would have been, if he was the Captain. If he had been the Captain, she would have learned right from the start that you don't betray the island and get off with lifetime imprisonment only.

"**Ah, well. That will soon be remedied,**" he muttered wickedly. His plans were coming to fruition. All he needed was some way to seize power... Maybe a distraction during the new prisoner's initiation? Gale was looking forward to that event, and what it meant for the island. And he knew the rest of the pirates were, too. It was a time-honored tradition dating back to the vunapaync and their first captures as pirates so many generations ago. Yes, the vunapaync were the greatest of them all, compared to their descendants nowadays. They had come to a strange, harsh world colder than anything they had faced before and had carved out a memorable place for themselves in the minds of dragons and humans alike.

No one knows how they first came to Blackstone, or how their precious metal artifacts worked, but they had been just as harsh and cruel as the rules they had implemented. Desertion, betrayal, and other crimes like that, if the perpetrator was caught, were punished severely. In comparison, the current Captain was a kind and benevolent leader. The Luta uv Benydac that the green-eyed settlers had created was the basis for all their laws, and there should be no alleviation for some Ytubdaa girl who happened to be the adopted daughter of the Captain and was originally intended for the heir. That is, until her little defection to the side of tnykuhc. The vile buicuh-cilgman.

Tnykuhc. Or, in the tongue of the Vikings and Berserkers that also resided in the Barbaric Archipelago, dragons. They had been the first enemy of the vunapaync, especially the ancestors of that _thing_ in the dungeon, the Silver Horrors. With their icy breath and lethal bodies, they had been one of the greatest scourges known to man or woman, and not even the relics of the vunapaync could do much good against their ice and teeth.

Gale grimaced at the thought of one of those abominations still living. Hadn't his ancestors done enough to wipe out that tyshat species? Wasn't it enough that they had fought to preserve their culture against an enemy that could smell days-old tnykuh blood? Didn't it matter that no matter how many Ytubdaac they initiated, raised, and trained, they could never gain the true advantage over something that could freeze its prey in its tracks before killing it?

And yet, one still lived. What would his ancestors say? Those amazingly inspirational people, known for the strangeness of their leaf-green eyes and their skill with both sailing and mechanics, how would they react if they knew one more Horror was still among the living? He had too many questions and not enough answers, and so Gale decided to take a walk through the underground village.

The harbor and the ynahy were the only structures visible from the surface, the former because of the necessity for ships, and the latter for natural sunlight during matches and training. Past those were a complicated web of tunnels, caves, and shafts that kept Blackstone's native pirates safe from attack from air and sea. He was pacing down those corridors now, thinking on how the island had changed from the early days.

For starters, there were the multitudes of colors when it came to the traditional tattoos. Oh, sure, there were the purple guards, the yellow hunters, and the green cooks; the orange trainers, the gray craftsmen and women, and the occasional pink midwives; but there were few blue blacksmiths and white healers, and almost no red Household heads or heirs out and about right now. No black Captains or heirs, for sure. But the two-toned colors were never there before. Blue-green, light blue, light green, indigo, yellow-green, these were all recent additions for those who took two jobs instead of one, like the Ytubdaa girl. He had been just as surprised as anyone when she decided to do something as difficult as be a blacksmith and a healer at the same time, but that still didn't change much.

The shapes were almost as varied as the colors. A triangle pointing down for the House of Winds, Gale's own family, both distant and close. A heart was the House of Flames, the single most irritating family in the archipelago. Squares garnished the faces of the House of Shocks, and diamonds graced the visages of the House of Lights, the Captain's own Household. A circle indicated the House of Shadows, while a six-pointed star was the symbol of the House of Snows. The overly-emotional House of Waters was marked by a teardrop, and the never-emotional House of Stones was marked by an hourglass. And to indicate the Ytubdaac, a five-pointed star was permanently added to their faces. There were more of them now than in the time of the vunapaync, mainly because the initiation ceremony had mellowed somewhat and they were breeding like rabbits. Of course, no Ytubdaa was trusted now that one of their own was in the dungeon. Everyone was too wary of them being yet more traitors to the island.

That reminded him of something. Gale pulled a small round object decorated with an upside down triangle and five snowflakes out of his belt pouch: an old belt buckle that still retained a well-worn shine. His fingers traced the etchings lovingly, gently touching the cool metal like it was the hand of a loved one. And for him, it was. This was all he had left of his wife, who had died during a raid for more prisoners and trade goods. She had been cocky, and that had been her downfall. Yet, despite the fact that his island condemned those who got too big for their britches, he still loved her. Chuf had been the best hunter he had ever seen, with long strawberry blonde hair and bright green eyes that sparkled whenever she spoke of her exploits or listened to him speak. She would never have allowed a traitor like Adeline to live. She would have just thrown a knife right into the breast of that conniving little tnylubrema and everyone would have been happier.

It was a decidedly unpopular opinion among the pirates nowadays. Was it his fault that most Heads now spoke of tolerating instead of terminating? Or that they had voted to cut down on the number of crimes punishable by death, maiming, or torture, and even on the severity of the punishments themselves? Only his House had voted against imprisoning her. He had wanted her executed right after she had been forced to kill that tyshat tnykuh, but noooo! The rest of those spineless Heads had voted to merely throw her in the dungeon for the rest of her natural life. It made him wonder if the remains of the vunapaync were rolling in their watery graves, their ashes scattered throughout the world by way of the currents.

Probably. Al Fonz had been the first to meet a Silver Horror, and his encounter was definitely not of the friendly variety. That had sparked the eternal war between them and the vicious beasts. Not even the relics, which the ancient texts called Makina, could defeat such monstrosities due to them breaking down in the cold of the archipelago. Despite this, Al Fonz had played for keeps against the tnykuhc, with his second-in-command Behd Heyr right beside him. And now, several generations later, here Gale was. The direct descendant of Behd Heyr himself, and naturally one of the candidates for Captain. Or at least, _was_ one of them. Now that he was a Head, the only one who could become Captain was his son, Gust, when it was time for the eight Heads to vote on the next Captain and retire.

Gale hadn't realized his feet had taken him to the dungeon until he heard two people talking, a boy and a girl. His grasp of Viking was spotty, but he had learned the essentials for scaring the lnyb out of his victims, so he inched closer to eavesdrop.

"**Dammit, Hiccup!** Everyone knows that you don't mess with a pirate girl's stuff! It's practically suicide!" she shouted. There was the sound of a scuffle, and the grunt of someone being forced to the ground (Gale recognized it merely because his sparring partners made that exact same sound whenever he pinned them).

"Ha! That'll teach you to mess with my supplies! Now stay down while I apply more of the antidote. This won't hurt as much as before, but it'll still be as painful as a bee sting." A clinking sound told Gale that Adeline had placed something made of clay on the floor, and the slight hiss of breath informed him of the antidote in question being applied.

"I just wanted to know what they said, but I can't read any of the labels," Hiccup, he assumed, replied. There was a snort of amusement from Adeline.

"If you could, I'd be worried. It's Benydeyh, Hiccup, in written form. We have a different style of writing than most of the archipelago. It's focused mainly on using brushes to make curves, which is why you can't read it. I'll tell you what they say later." There was a pause in the conversation until Adeline hummed with pride.

"There we go! You can sit up now. The bandages will hold." There were two amused growls and Gale curled his lip in disdain. Tnykuhc should not be alive inside the island, least of all with two riders. Something nagged at him, but he couldn't put his finger on it. As he walked back to his family's set of caverns, it hit him like a sack of bricks.

Where had she gotten the bandages? All her supplies had been confiscated and sent to the Juimd when she was arrested. Unless... there was a rat among them. Some sympathizer who didn't dare speak out against the Council openly, but instead smuggled items into the dungeon under the noses of the guards. But who? Who would dare do such a thing, when the punishment was twenty lashes in the arena?

There was only one possible culprit. Someone who could use their status to slip confiscated items to a prisoner and get away with it. And the only one capable of that was Simon, the Captain's son.

A guard walked past him, bowing his head in respect. In his rough hands was a tray laden with two mugs of water, two bowls of stew, two plates of dried fish, and two dishes of water. The rations for the prisoners and their tnykuhc. In his opinion, they deserved to starve, but rules were rules. The prisoners must be fed if they want any chance of joining the island. And for Simon, it would be his only food for a while, if Gale had anything to say about it. But for now, he had to prepare for the hearing tomorrow. His plans could not wait for something as minor as a rogue pirate. No... not even the son of his ultimate rival.

Gale walked into his private room (a well-furnished cave set aside expressly for him and his wife) and closed the metal door, his goals at the forefront of his thoughts, and didn't notice his own son watching him carefully, curiously, casually.

_Several hours, one meal, and two bathroom breaks later..._

Adeline's POV

Toothless was particularly restless tonight, pacing around the edges of the cell while Frostwave, Hiccup, and I watched him, amused and slightly curious, just below the grate in the middle of the roof.

"What is it, bud? You okay?" Hiccup asked as the Night Fury made his third circuit of the room. The warm light from above was slowly being dimmed, and perhaps that made Toothless calm down. He joined us in the center and bumped his nose against Frostwave's side.

"Frostwave? What's up with Toothless?" I asked, putting a hand to her neck and slowly running my hand down the smooth silver-white scales. She relaxed and let her head fall into my lap before purring out a reply.

"_He's just wondering when we can get out of here. And so am I. I heard your plan, but you never said when we were going to implement it._" I smiled and rubbed a spot just behind her main horn where it was hard for her claws to reach.

"When it's time for Hiccup's initiation, which is four days from now. I'll worry about getting all of us there. You guys just need to do your parts, 'kay?" They all sounded agreement, and now that our fears of staying here forever and our hungers were alleviated, we could go to sleep. But despite my confident words, small doubts kept eating away at me from the inside. What if the plan didn't work? What if one of us was seriously injured, but we all managed to get away? What if, against all odds, they were prepared for something like what we were going to pull? What if-?

My frenzied brain would have continued, but a hand on my shoulder distracted me. Hiccup was looking at me kindly.

"Don't worry, Addie. We'll get out of here. I know we will. I have faith in us," he told me, saying just the right things to make all those fears go away. I smiled in reply.

"Thanks, Hiccup. I needed that. Well, good night," I said, curling up in Frostwave's coils. He leaned back against Toothless, and soon only the soft snores of boy and dragon met my ears. I followed their example and joined them in, if not blissful, at least calm slumber.

**Author's Notes: Here are your translations, O mighty and wonderful readers.**

**Ytubdaa – this is for completion's sake, but it means Adoptee; again, someone not born on the island**

**tnykuh(c) – dragon(s); again , for completion's sake**

**vunapaync – forebears; the very first human inhabitants of Blackstone Island**

**Luta uv Benydac – Code of Pirates; this was written by Al Fonz, the first Captain, to provide the pirates' own set of laws**

**buicuh-cilgman – poison-suckler; a very bad insult, this implies that they were raised terribly or by terrible people**

**tyshat – damned**

**ynahy – arena; where training, matches, and many other social events take place**

**tnylubrema – dracophile; someone who loves dragons, also the one insult among Blackstone pirates that's worse than buicuh-cilgman (Yes, I made it up, but I tend to do that a lot. Deal with it. ▄▬▄****)**

**Yeah, it shouldn't be too hard to guess what Benydeyh is now. Especially if you've played a certain game. Hint hint, wink wink, nudge nudge, say no more say no more. Remember, if you review with the correct answer, you'll get a mention in the next AN, a favorite on your account, and READER COOKIES! They're impossibly delicious! I hope this helped you understand a bit of what happened to make Blackstone the way it is, and why Gale hates Adeline so much. It's how he was raised. Also, I dare you to say Al Fonz, Behd Heyr, and Makina aloud. You'll either laugh or hate my guts, or both! That's the fun thing about people. It's possible to hate and love someone at the same time, even if it seems contradictory. What can I say? We're contrary creatures. Take the whole "don't look down" thing, or "don't think about what we just did when no one was looking". It just makes you want to do those things.**

**And with that, Wild Cat 214, out!**


	6. Chapter 5: Tricks

**Author's Notes: It's time for stage one of the plan to be enacted. What plan, you ask? The plan Adeline and Hiccup came up with in the last chapter. But don't fret. They aren't escaping yet. Just putting the pieces in place for the eventual escape.**

**Okay, I just want to say THANK YOU to all the people that have reviewed, favorite-ed, or are following this story. Every time I see the numbers and the comments on my screen, I just get this funny feeling in my chest cavity, like the feeling when that person you have a crush on walks by. You people make me thankful to be a writer, and I'm not just saying that so you'll post good reviews. I'm being perfectly serious. I just love you guys. Okay, enough feels. On to the story!**

**Please R&amp;R!**

**P.S. I went trick-or-treating (because it's not just something little kids do and I wanted free candy), and my feet were killing me by the end. Quick anecdote: twice my group came across signs that said "no soliciting", so when they opened the door, I said we were solicitors :). How was your Halloween?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD. Just my OC's.**

_Day 4_

Adeline's POV

Day broke with the sound of something... well, breaking. And let's just say, when a couple of dragons are startled awake, it isn't fun for anyone who's sleeping near them. Frostwave slapped me in the face with her tail, Toothless nearly flung Hiccup across the room, but merely sent him crashing into me, and the two of them hopped into a guarded position below the grate and started growling. When nothing else happened except for a woman swearing like a pirate (duh) and the soft clink of pottery shards being picked up, they relaxed. The pair turned their heads to look at us, and, unless my eyes were playing tricks on me, Frostwave and Toothless were smirking. Or, at least, as close as Frostwave gets to smirking.

I, meanwhile, was busy coping with the fact that Hiccup and I were now VERY close together, closer than we had been previously. My mind was panicking, my face was bright red, I was feeling uncomfortably hot, and I'm pretty sure the garbled sounds of shock coming from my mouth were not helping. Hiccup seemed just as surprised as me, and as soon as we could gain control over our arms and legs we scrambled apart.

"Uh, um, I-I'm sorry," Hiccup stammered. I had my face buried in Frostwave's side, so I couldn't really see or hear him clearly (for obvious reasons), but I got that much.

"Don't be," I replied, my voice muffled by her shiny scales, "It wasn't your fault. Some bozo up there dropped something and startled the dragons, that's all. You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

'Though what they broke, I have no idea,' I added silently. It was odd. There were very few breakable objects on Blackstone. We try to make things last, because there's no guarantee that the next ship we attack will have what we need. And fragile things like clay, glass, and really delicate wood and metal are not tough enough for daily use by pirates, no matter how pretty they look. So what had broken? I looked up and heard something skitter across the floor above us. There was a movement at the edge of the grate and I could see something small and still.

"Hello there, " I murmured, fascinated. My legs bent into a deep crouch, then pushed me up with enough force for me to reach the bars of the grate and grab them. The rusty bars rubbed against the calluses on the bottom of my hand and made them rougher, but they weren't too bad. I swung my way across the grate (it was a very large woven metal sheet) and over to the thing. Fingers snaked between the bars and clutched at it.

If someone above was watching, it must have been strange and somewhat scary to see a hand pop out of the ground. But apparently no one was watching, because I didn't hear any screams of surprise or invocations of Odin and Thor, so my hand pulled my prize back through the bars and I dropped down. And nearly landed on Hiccup, who had come to stand below me, watching what I was doing curiously. He moved out of the way quickly, but I think my foot clipped his shoulder, because I definitely kicked something and one hand was holding it gingerly while he looked at my hand.

"What is it?" he asked, pointing at it with his injured arm. I unlocked my fingers from around the shard and revealed what I had retrieved.

It was a fragment of some sort of pot, from what I could tell. The outside surfaces were glossy and had a blue flower on a white background on one side, while the inner parts where it had broken were rough and grainy. I barely recognized it as being a piece of one of the pots that was used for the special hot brew of the Household heads that they drank during certain trials. Wait... Trials?

I slapped my free hand to my head, and promptly let out a yelp of pain, mostly because I had swung it with too much force to be comfortable.

"**Oh, I'm an idiot! How do I forget that? I even went over it yesterday!**" my angry (mostly at myself) voice scolded me. Hiccup raised an eyebrow. I grinned abashedly and chuckled nervously at him.

"Uh, I may or may not have forgotten that I have my hearing today," I explained. He put a hand to his forehead, making sure not to imitate me and smack himself.

"Addie, why would you forget something like that? Isn't it a part of our plan?" he questioned worriedly. Maybe he was concerned about my sanity (that ship has sailed), or my memory (what's that?), or maybe his and Toothless's safety (the likeliest choice). My money was on the third. I shrugged, exercising my shoulder and back muscles some more, and held it out.

"Hiccup, in case you hadn't noticed, I've been in a cell for three years. Forgetting something is the least of my worries. Now put this somewhere safe. I want to keep it as a memento of this day, but if I take it with me to the hearing they'll just take it away," I told him. Hiccup took it gently and pulled his furry vest out to put the shard into a pocket, but stopped before he did.

"What? Is something wrong? Did Frostwave say something?" I joked lightheartedly. Hiccup didn't share in my amusement. Instead, resolve spread across his face like a ripple on the surface of a lake. He pulled out a knife and showed it to me. I took it gently and balanced it on one finger.

"It's well-made, but what's the point?" I said, looking at the edge of the blade carefully (**AN: Oh, I crack myself up. What? Someone has to laugh at my cheesy jokes. It might as well be me**). Hiccup smiled a little, but soon went serious again.

"Can't we fight our way out? I've got this, and we've got two powerful dragons. You can lead the way out, and we won't have to wait for some initiation."

3rd Person POV: Hiccup

Addie shifted from a casual stance to a closed-off posture and looked away. Hiccup didn't know what in Thor's name was going on with her, but it had something to do with what he had said.

"Addie? You okay?" he asked, putting out a hand. She took a step back, then another, and another until she reached Frostwave's side.

"Um, yeah, I'm fine," she replied distractedly. The Silver Horror by her side nudged her with her nose and growled reproachfully. The pirate girl looked at the dragon and sighed.

"Fine, I'll tell him. Hiccup, there's something I haven't told you. See, me and Frostwave could have escaped a few days ago. In fact, we were planning on doing so, until you and Toothless dropped in." She blurted this out at 90 miles an hour then dove behind Frostwave and under a wing. Toothless, being the awesome and amusing dragon he is, padded around to sniff her worriedly. Hiccup, being the awesome and amazing Viking he is, joined them. Frostwave growled something softly, but it wasn't threatening, merely amused.

"Shut it, Frostwave," Addie mumbled. "We can go where we want. It doesn't have to be a party when we're all together." She had her arms wrapped around her legs, which were folded up against her body, and her face was hidden in her arms and knees. Her dragon had pulled back her wing to reveal the rogue pirate girl to Hiccup and Toothless, and was now pushing lightly against Addie's arm with her nose.

"Please stop, Frostwave. Isn't it bad enough that I already had a plan for escape, and didn't bother sharing it with them?" she grumbled despairingly. Hiccup knelt down and wrapped an arm around her shoulders cautiously. There was no doubt in his mind that Addie could probably kill him easily, and Frostwave could handle Toothless while the whole slaughtering-the-offending-Viking-boy-event was happening. And he was kind of fond of being alive. Strange, right?

At the touch of his skinny arm, Addie looked up, stunned. Hiccup smiled at her reassuringly.

"Hey, it's okay, Addie. You probably had a good reason for it, right?" She nodded slowly and looked down at her boots.

"Well, when you and Toothless showed up, I couldn't count on being able to help you guys too, or on managing to lead you out safely. We're good at fighting, but not that good. And I didn't want to escape anyways and leave you two here, because that would just be cruel. I try to avoid being cruel, especially when a dragon is involved, so that was out of the question." Addie then frowned and set her chin on her arm.

"See? You did have a good reason. You didn't want to leave us to the tender mercies of the guards. That sounds like a good reason to me. What do you think, bud?" he said to the Night Fury. Addie watched with surprise as he pulled his lips back to give her his trademark gummy smile. A matching one grew from her own mouth, and soon everyone was smiling, except for Frostwave. She never smiles. Never, not ever. Not even once.

Adeline's POV

_KNOCK! KNOCK!_

Our grins changed to looks of surprise, and I had to resist the urge to call out, "Who's there?"

I don't think I would have liked the answer.

There was a metallic jingle, the sound of many tiny pieces of metal hitting one another. The keys of Blackstone, forged from iron stolen long ago by pirates from trade ships. And they were being used at the door to our cell. Naturally.

The crisscrossing metal swung in to allow several guards in. A pair of leather bands connected with a thick chain was in the hands of one woman, and they were not comfy. I should know. I've worn them before, once a month for the past three years. Today was actually the three-year anniversary of the day I was thrown in here. _Yay! Let's all throw a party!_ Returning to the matter at hand, it was time for me to go have my hearing. Time for stage one of my master plan to escape with Hiccup and Toothless.

The woman with the shackles came forward, carefully skirting around Frostwave and Toothless to secure me. Like that would help. I had made those shackles personally, and later (aka when Frostwave and I became friends) added a certain flaw to them. As she tightened the bands, I glanced over at Hiccup. He looked worried, but the confidence on my face must have helped, because he relaxed and got out of their way when the others escorted me from the cell. How fun. I get my own fan club.

We marched down the rough, stony halls toward the heart of Blackstone: the zitka-nuus, the taletehk-nuus, and the Jyimd, all vitally important locations. The Jyimd was where all the treasure and confiscated goods went. The taletehk-nuus and the zitka-nuus were where I was going. My guards pushed me into a vulnerable position in from of one solid metal door. There are a lot of metal doors in Blackstone, but this one was special. It was made of the finest steel we could, well, steal, and was reinforced with the same incredibly strong wood the boats were fashioned from. Not only that, but the inside had several locks and metal bars preventing entrance... or exit. There was another door on the far side, but it was reserved for bringing in evidence against the accused. Like, for example, a certain silver-white dragon in a cell not far from here.

The lead guard, a grim man with a purple circle over his eye, curtly knocked on the door twice. A small rectangular panel at an adult's eye level slid open from the inside to reveal a pair of bright green, cold eyes. They alighted on me, narrowed, and rose to meet the guard's eyes. He saluted.

"**I've brought the **Ytubdaa** for her hearing,**" he informed the person stiffly. His answer was the panel sliding shut. We waited a few tense minutes until we heard the unmistakable sound of keys in locks and bars swinging up on hinges that desperately need oil. There was a pause in the grating sound and the squeal of metal on metal, then the door swung open to show me a familiar face.

Now, if I had been in a different situation, I would have called Kiynt a handsome woman. Her hair was strictly tied back in a neat black braid – the better for her icy green eyes to stare into the depths of your soul – and the purple hourglass over her eye contrasted nicely with her pale skin. I'm sure that when she was a girl she had no shortage of potential boyfriends. Her time as a guard had changed her, though, and instead of being a fragile flower she was now a force of nature, strong and unrelenting. Even the imposing lines on her face made her seem tougher than anything else around, including the door, which was probably why she had been chosen for the elite guard of Blackstone. Intimidating people is a part of the job.

I was pushed through roughly, and heard a few quiet snickers from the less experienced guards, the ones that had been freshly marked and still had the bandage around their heads, but they were quickly silenced when Kiynt glared at them and shoved me further inside so she could close and lock the portal into the inner sanctum of the eight Heads. Here, they had all the power. Nobody of lower standing could question their decisions, not when they were made in the taletehk-nuus and announced in the zitka-nuus. Only in minor changes announced in the Ynahy could the general public have a say.

Kiynt glared down at me, and I smiled warmly.

"**So nice to see you again, Kiynt. I hope the family's doing fine,**" I said nonchalantly. If she was taken aback by how calm I was, she didn't show it; that was the House of Stones for you. Their motto was "conceal, don't feel". Or maybe that was the House of Snows. I always get those two mixed up.

Kiynt ignored me, as usual, and started unlocking the second door leading into the zitka-nuus proper. Where we stood was more of an antechamber than anything else, able to strike fear into the hearts of grown men with the absence of comforting light. I think she had grown so used to this job as guardian of the zitka-nuus that Kiynt could feel her way around while the prisoners were forced to fumble around in the darkness of this tiny room. Eventually, the second door was unlocked and she shoved me into the zitka-nuus.

To say I was tired of being pushed around is an understatement. I wanted to break free of my chains and go crazy on them, but that would not end well for anyone, especially me. So when yet another guard (we have a lot of those on Blackstone) pushed me forward into a stone chair and tied me up against the back, I was getting pretty mad.

The zitka-nuus hadn't changed much in the last month. There was still the stony gray floor, the stairs sweeping around the edge of the round room to the eight thrones, and said thrones looming over me with their intricate carvings and comfy cushions. They were empty right now, so I could see the central designs carved into the backs of each one in the flickering torchlight, if I twisted around enough.

On the far left was an upside down triangle, the symbol of the House of Winds. Continuing right there was the heart of the House of Flames, the square of the Shocks, and the diamond of the House of Lights. Two large metal doors were between these four and the others, high above where I sat, and through there was the taletehk-nuus, where they made their decisions away from the guards and the accused. To the right of these doors were thrones with the circle of the Shadows, the six-pointed star of the House of Snows, the teardrop of the House of Waters, and finally, the hourglass of the Stones. This was all they had to indicate which seat of power was which (If you ask me, it was stupid of them. I mean, what if they forgot who sat where, or they couldn't see the markings?).

There was the clank of metal moving, and I did my best to look where it had come from. It wasn't easy – ropes are not conducive to successful contortion attempts – but I did catch a glimpse of the eight heads walking through the door I had come through and going up the stairs to their appropriate thrones. The Captain came in last and sat down first, as was customary for these sorts of things, and once his rear end was planted on the black cushion my hearing began.

Little did they know this was the first part of my escape plan.

3rd Person POV: Gale

Watching the Ytubdaa girl answer the usual questions differently was... strange. She accepted that she had done something wrong, conceded that she was willing to right that wrong, and even acted like an ashamed-but-repenting girl. Normally she would be denying that befriending a tnykuh was wrong, claiming that she would never kill it, ever, and refusing any attempts at compromise. And naturally, Gale was suspicious. Someone doesn't have that big of a change of heart in a month, not without major external factors. And the only new things in her life were the prisoner and the Night Fury...

"**Captain, if I may be allowed one thing?**" she said meekly. Gale shifted his attention back to her and away from his suspicions. Adeline wasn't meek. She was brash and loud, rebellious and adventurous, not this quiet, obedient girl. What had happened in the past few days to change her so?

"**Go on,**" the Captain said, mildly intrigued by her manner. The stupid girl bowed her head before stating her request.

"**Might I be allowed to redeem myself on the day of the **bnecuhan**'s initiation? I could set an example for him and convince him to kill that** **Night Fury, and then he can be initiated,**" she suggested quietly. The Captain considered her proposal while every nerve in Gale's body was screaming that it was a trick, then raised a clenched fist. The other heads stiffened and sat up straighter.

"**The **Luihlem uv Amtanc** will adjourn to the **taletehk-nuus** to discuss your request,** **Adeline. Guards, keep an eye on her. She's wilier than you think.**" HE stood, signaling that the other seven, including Gale, could rise, and all eight walked through the imposing double doors.

_Half a tense, worried hour later..._

Gale was fuming. Hadn't the other heads realized she was tricking them? Boulder, Cryta, Drift, Bolt, Blaze, Fyja, the Captain, couldn't they tell she was lying? But he had no way to prove it. All he had was his gut and one vote against the gullible minds and eight votes of the others (The Captain, being the leader of the island, had two, unlike the others. This was to prevent ties in the Council, though usually votes were never that close.), and he knew where those were going. Toward helping that conniving little buecuh-cilgehk tnylubrema in her goal. And the worst part was that he had no idea why she would ask to kill her dragon before an initiation ceremony. Adeline had never cared about anyone before, never shown the slightest interest in anything but her duties and, sometimes, Simon, so why now? After all these years, why now- Wait.

Inwardly, Gale was laughing hysterically. All it had taken was a few days locked in a room, and already she was in love with the prisoner. Maybe they should have done that a long time ago; then they wouldn't have this big of a headache when it came to Adeline.

Outwardly, he was grim, any chance of being able to tell what he was thinking diminishing with every passing moment. He had tuned out the authoritative drone of the Captain informing Adeline that yes, she could redeem herself at the prisoner's initiation in three days time, and if she could convince him to kill his dragon at the same time, well, she might even be welcomed back with open arms. That last part was unspoken, but implied with every syllable. He knew that stupid Ytubdaa could hear it. She was smarter than she looked, even if she was clueless sometimes. How else could she not see that he, Gale, the head of the House of Winds, had caught on to her little act? Or perhaps he was just too good of an actor.

Movement caught his eye, and he realized it was time to stand and leave. As the Captain walked past him, his black eyes shot daggers at the older man. One day he would be the one leading the way out, not that foolish man blinded by hope and love for a silly traitor.

And when that day came, Adeline was going to regret ever disobeying the Luda uv Benydac' sacred inscriptions.

Adeline's POV

After that stunning yet welcome decision, I was marched back to the cell I shared with Hiccup, Frostwave, and Toothless, who was being surprisingly sedate right now. When I asked Hiccup, he told me that Frostwave had showed him where to find the dried dragon nip flowers and had used them on the agitated dragon.

"_He was worried about you,_" my dragon explained calmly, eating the last morsels of her ration of fish. Hiccup had managed to save my food from the ravenous appetites of the dragons, and eating the mutton stew cold wasn't much different from usual. They waited until after I had scarfed down the meal to ask me how it went.

"Well, I definitely managed to convince them that I was repenting my traitorous ways and returning to their side, and I arranged for me and Frostwave to get into your initiation ceremony, Hiccup. Oh, but... I may have said that I would try and convince you to kill Toothless."

"What?" Before Hiccup could protest further I hurried the conversation into the less awkward zone.

"But don't worry, I'll get us out of here without it coming to that," I breezed over his protests quickly. Better not dwell on the fact that he had to pretend he was going to kill his best friend, or that I must do the same if we ever wanted to get out of here.

That was when I realized I had nowhere to go. I had been so looking forward to escaping this place that I hadn't planned ahead for where Frostwave and I would be living out our lives as fugitives from these people. Sure, we could probably find somewhere to live that was peaceful and didn't have any hostile people or dragons on it, but I had no skill with cooking. In fact, that had been the one thing I had been warned away from when I was eight and choosing what field or fields I would go into. It wasn't that I was bad at it. It's just... I liked sour things more than other people, and my cooking reflected that. Salty food as well, though that was mostly in the form of salted boar cooked into a savory stew with some carrots. And because of my tastes, I had been steered away from that field of expertise.

"What's wrong, Addie? You went pale all of a sudden," he asked, and I could feel a comforting nudge from both Toothless and Frostwave. They also looked worried about me, and I sighed affectionately as I stroked the Night Fury's head while I talked.

"Me and Frostwave have nowhere to go when we leave. I guess we could find an island somewhere, but I'd get tired of roasted fish real soon, and I have no skill at cooking. She might not mind, but I rather like eating things other than fish, and while I can catch other things, I can't cook them into something reasonably edible," I explained sadly. We could probably try and find somewhere near civilization where we could live and still be able to have real food, but people might get suspicious if a strange girl appeared out of nowhere and started asking for food. And there was the matter of my reputation...

"Come with us," Hiccup said frankly.

3rd Person POV: Hiccup

It took a few seconds for the offer to register in Addie's mind, and during those moments her face shifted from an expression of depression to a hilarious look of shock. Her mouth was open in a silent "O," her eyes widened, and she didn't move during that time. Then she grinned widely and jumped at him.

"Thank you thank you thank you!" she squealed joyfully, wrapping her arms around his waist and hugging him tightly. He willingly returned the gesture, but grunted in pain as the scratch in his side twinged. Addie pulled back swiftly, her face turning faintly pink.

"Uh, sorry 'bout that. Forgot about the whole Hiccup-is-injured thing," she said, waving her hand at the wounded area. He shrugged, ignoring the slight stab of pain that came with the movement.

"It's okay. You were just too excited to think straight," he replied amiably. She nodded and clapped her hands twice. Frostwave came over and let her get the antidote and bandages from the kit, then gently huffed a cloud of ice into his hair. He brushed it out and looked at a silently chuckling Addie.

"What?" Her laughter broke its vow of silence and burbled up like one of those springs she had been talking about earlier.

"Frostwave only does that to people she likes. She thinks it's funny to see them get mad because of it."

"I see." Hiccup lifted up his green tunic and gritted his teeth through the stinging sensation of her removing his old bandages, applying the next dose, and wrapping a new strip of cloth around his waist.

The good thing about this was that it gave him a chance to study her face while she worked, completely focused on helping him survive what had essentially been an accident, but could be fatal if left alone. The look of concentration and grim resolve didn't seem to fit with what he knew of her, but it did make him feel better that she was trying so hard to save someone she had only known for a few days.

The bad thing about this was that Frostwave was watching him and making amused little hums every time he met her disconcertingly red eyes. Almost all of the dragons he had met had yellow or yellow-green eyes, not that deep blood-red, the color of war. And what really got him was that it was a dragon that breathed ice, not fire. He knew that there were dragons, like the Scauldron, that used things other than flame to attack, but ice?

Addie finished tying the strip of fresh cloth and tucked the ends of the knot into the wrap, then backed away to give him some room to adjust to the feeling of tight, clean cloth around his waist.

"How is it? Not too tight, I hope," she said. Hiccup nodded.

"It's fine, Addie. Anyways, I was serious about you coming with me and Toothless. It might take awhile for the others to get used to you, but Berk is a good place to have a dragon right now. It's definitely better than here, and there are loads of different species for you to see." She held up a hand to halt his sales pitch.

"Hiccup, you had me at 'dragon.' Actually, you had me at 'come,' but that doesn't matter. I'd love to go with you guys to Berk," Addie said gratefully. Frostwave also seemed pleased and whisked her tail over his head affectionately. The dragon growled something, and Addie blushed.

"What did she say?" he asked, curious. She plastered a nervous smile to her face.

"Oh, nothing important. Frostwave said she'd love to go to Berk, too." Frostwave's crimson eyes narrowed and she blew a cloud of ice at Addie's head before growling reproachfully. Addie hissed under her breath in Benydeyh in reply.

"Crid ib! E lyh'd damm res dryd! Pacetac, E tuh'd vaam dryd fyo ypuid res."

Adeline's POV

Geez, Frostwave didn't know anything. I didn't have a crush on Hiccup. How could I? I had only known him for a few days. I mean, sure, he was funny, and he loved dragons, but there were probably a bunch of other boys on Berk like that. If Frostwave thought I had feelings for him, she was sadly mistaken. That's it, end of story.

The evening passed with dinner (stale bread, water, fish stew, and dried fish), Frostwave and Toothless deciding to play a game of chase while Hiccup and I took shelter in the center of the room away from swiping tails and clipping wings, and me deciding to start exercising for the job ahead. It wouldn't do to lose my touch when we needed it most, so I started with basic pull ups with the iron grate above us. Unfortunately, I was really out of shape, so I was only able to get to thirty before I had to stop and hang out. Literally. I hooked my ankles in the holes and hung like a bat. Toothless saw this, cocked his head to the side and lifted his ear flaps up with interest, then tried to do the same with his tail. Poor Toothless. His tail couldn't fit through the holes enough to pull him away from the ground, and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't get a firm grip on the bars with his claws.

Soon, it was time to sleep again, but I was having trouble entering the wonderful land of dreams. I was too excited over the fact that in three days, I would be living a new life in a new village, with new people who wouldn't hate me because I had a dragon. Nope, instead they would hate me because of what I had done in the past. But, in my defense, I can say that I never killed anyone. I was never given the chance. On the few raids I had been on, they had been either practice raids on old shipwrecks or the usual visit to Trader Johann. We kept him around because he had some rare goods that we loved, and because the kids loved hearing his tall tales (that is, before they realized he could go on for hours).

Hiccup patted me on the shoulder amicably before joining Toothless in the small circle of warmth the Night Fury made with his breath. I smirked a tiny bit at the thought of one of the dnyehaac trying to scrub the scorch marks out of the stone, but it changed into a look of dread when I remembered the punishment for failing at a task that was incredibly simple. Before I could say something to them about leaving the cell as they found it, Frostwave wrapped her tail and neck around me, pulling me against her warm scales and dropping her head into my lap.

"_Don't worry, Addie. I have faith in you, and so do Toothless and Hiccup. You just need to believe in yourself,_" she crooned before snoring softly. Man, Frostwave could sleep through a thunderstorm while I banged some pots and pans together and sang at the top of my lungs. Not that I had tried or anything like that... heh. Her little growls of sleep were rhythmic enough that my eyes started to close, and I fell asleep to visions of flying freely in the clear blue sky, safe from any harm that came from Blackstone.

**Author's Notes: Translations! Get your freshly typed translations here!**

**zitka-nuus – judge-room; where trials are held**

**taletehk-nuus – deciding-room; where the heads go to decide the verdict on a trial**

**Jyimd – Vault; again, where treasure and confiscated goods go**

**Ytubdaa – Adoptee; and by now you're probably getting tired of seeing it**

**Ynahy – Arena**

**tnykuh – dragon**

**bnecuhan – prisoner, aka Hiccup**

**Luihlem uv Amtanc – Council of Elders**

**buecuh-cilgehk tnylubrema – poison-sucking dracophile; yeah, basically yet another insult (the pirates can get pretty creative with their slurs)**

**Luda uv Benydac – Code of Pirates**

**Benydeyh – Piratian, the language of Blackstone. Nuff said.**

**Crid ib! E lyh'd damm res dryd! Pacetac, E tuh'd vaam dryd fyo ypuid res – Shut up! I can't tell him that! Besides, I don't feel that way about him (Yeah, right)**

**dnyehaac – trainees**

**Sorry about how long it is. I kind of got carried away.**

**Here's something funny for you. When I copy and paste this into the document manager after typing it up in OpenOffice, things are underlined, like the perspective swaps and the AN's. But it was only after I did a live preview of Frozen Flames that I realized it wasn't transferring the underline, just the bold. So I went back into the most recently created chapter, opened it up, and added the underlines that should have been there already. Maybe I'll do the same with all the previous chapters later. Maybe... Also, the word "likeliest" is so weird. It looks like the "e" shouldn't be there, but it must. Go figure.**

**And yes, I will talk about completely random things here.**

**I'm thinking of doing a poll on the subject of the next chapter. Do you people want to know what Simon thinks of this whole thing? Do you just want more Adeline and Hiccup interaction in a locked room with no adult supervision? Or do you simply not care and want me to write more? All this and more, when I get around to it. I'm thinking after about 100-200 answers I'll close the poll and post the next chapter. Whichever answer is highest wins.**

**Also, should I call these Author's Notes or Author's Nonsense? Maybe that'll be another poll. But either way, the abbreviation will be AN, so... yeah, just vote and I'll do my best to comply.**

**Wild Cat 214, out!**


	7. Chapter 6: Problems

**Author's Notes: Ah, screw it. I want to continue the story, so I'm not gonna do the whole poll business. So sue me. Sorry to everyone who wanted it**

**And please, a moment of silence for everyone who has died because of terrorism, no matter when or where. They died because of someone else's misguided beliefs, and for that, I am truly sorry. It's people like those in Isis and Al-qaeda that make me lose hope in humanity, but it's people like you readers that revive that hope. So please, remember them.**

**Read!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own HTTYD. Plain and simple.**

_Day 5_

Adeline's POV

_I was alone. Nothingness spread around me in the form of an inky, almost _living_ darkness. My body shivered in that frozen expanse, and I realized I was standing on something black and cold, like the stone that Trader Johann sometimes brought from the south. Obsidian, he had called it. But this, _this_ was far colder, like someone or something had taken the deepest shadows of a cave and made them tangible. Slowly, I could see pinpoints of light form in the distance, an infinity of tiny white specks in an endless sea of black._

_I heard the soft pad of boots behind me and turned. My father was staring at me beseechingly, a trickle of blood leaking from the corner of his mouth. His skin was pale, his eyes were glazed, and he was dripping with water. He tried reaching out to me, my father mouthing words I couldn't hear, but a gleaming silver sword broke through his chest and made a bone-chilling rattle escape his mouth instead._

_"__DADDY!" I screamed, but my voice was that of a five year old girl, before my childhood had been wrenched away by the selfishness of an entire island. I looked down and saw I had regressed into my younger self. My eyes rose to meet my father's, and the silent plea in them made me want to sob until I had turned into a dried husk. He fell to the ground and as soon as he touched the cold rock he turned into a pile of gray powder. There was another sound behind me, and I whirled around..._

_...only to wish I hadn't. Frostwave was standing there, barely, with a spear plunged into her silvery scales right where her heart was._

_"_Addie..._" she hissed weakly before falling onto her side and stopping. I ran over, my body returned to its previous state, and tried to hold her head. But she turned into a cloud of silver dust that was blown away by some unseen wind, and my desperate fingers clutched at nothing._

_"__Frostwave? NOOOOO!" I screamed into the emptiness. My knees failed me and I collapsed onto the heartless stone that held me up. There was another noise, and I unwillingly turned around. What I had seen so far had instilled a perpetual sense of dread within me whenever I heard something new._

_This time, it was Hiccup and Toothless, both terribly wounded and barely alive and each supporting the other. I got up and tried to run toward them, but the distance seemed to lengthen with every step, and I was helpless to stop them from turning into swirls of gray dust in the otherworldly gusts of wind._

_A searing pain made me press my hands to my lower back, holding back a shriek that would have shaken this sadist's playground to the core. Not that memory. Anything but that. Not the time my innocence was stripped away from me by the fires of a demented tradition._

_More pain streaked across my back, quick bolts of flame that burned me and left me cold at the same time. Like tongues of fire frozen in crystals of ice, they left me feeling blackened from frostbite and burns, no longer the happy girl I was before Blackstone. I tried to whirl around to face whatever was inflicting these wounds, but every time I did it would just follow me, hitting me harder and harder with every attempt to retaliate. At the same time, a feeling like rough hands ran all over my body, making me squirm with disgust. No... not that memory, too. Anything but that one memory! Please!_

_Just when I was about to give up and stop fighting, I felt some sort of soothing presence behind me, and a faint golden light shone down from that same direction. I turned hesitantly and gaped. A strange, timeless woman was there, with glowing gold hair that floated like it was underwater, kind gold eyes, and a robe of shimmering gold. Yeah, basically, she was completely gold, except for one thing. She had a tiny black and white shape in her hands and was holding it out to me._

_"__Will you take her, Guardian of Kindness? Will you accept Luna Zyan, as others have before you? Will you take up the path of Lighte?" she asked. Her voice was serious, but at the same time reassuring, like being submerged in a warm bath. I reached out tentatively, hoping beyond all hope it wasn't another trick, when I felt like someone was shaking me._

"Addie! Addie" _someone shouted. Someone familiar... Hiccup!_

I wrenched open my eyes, breaking free of that nightmare and seeing Hiccup kneeling over me. He looked terrified, and it took me a second to realize why. I had probably screamed in my sleep. Frostwave lowered her head and rubbed it against me affectionately but worriedly.

"_Addie, don't cry,_" she begged, "_Please don't cry. It'll be alright._" That was when I realized my face was wet; the nightmare had made me cry in my sleep. I looked from her to Hiccup, and from him to Toothless, who was crooning concernedly and trying to bump his head against me. My arms reached around Frostwave's neck and Toothless's head, and I managed to get Hiccup into the embrace that was forming between the four of us. We just sat like that, taking silent comfort from the nearness of each other, until Hiccup asked me something.

"Addie? Are you okay? It sounded like you were having a nightmare," he said worriedly. I was about to answer him when there was a knocking at the cell door. Quickly, we broke apart, and I caught a glimpse of who was at the door. It was Simon, and when he saw me looking he smiled and waved.

"**Addie? It's me. I came to ask you something,**" he whispered, glancing to the sides as if he was afraid of being caught. And for all I knew, he was. Simon was putting a lot at risk, coming down here without his father's permission. I got up and walked over to the door, still shaken by the dream. He looked over my shoulder at Hiccup and Toothless, then back at me.

"**Please, Addie, tell me you're not planning anything crazy,**" he begged. I shrugged noncommittally, and he groaned exasperatedly.

"**Well, you need to watch out. Gale** **is planning something, and I don't think it's good.**" I raised an eyebrow.

"**How would you know? Last time I checked, Gale** **hated your guts and refused to let you anywhere near his rooms.**" Simon grinned.

"**Gust and I have a newly formed friendship. I'm not the only one who's worried about what his father might do if he ever came to power. And I may have given him a few of Durni's seed cakes in exchange,**" he replied sheepishly. I smirked, then looked back at Hiccup and the two dragons. They were watching us curiously, but warily. I waved, showing that Simon was an ally, and beckoned Hiccup over.

"Hiccup, this is Simon. He's the one who brought me the pieces of my medicine kit, so you could say he's the reason I'm able to help you with the poison," I said, gesturing to Simon while introducing him at the same time. Hiccup nodded.

"**And Simon, this is Hiccup. He's my cellmate, and if it weren't for you bringing me my medicine kit, he'd probably be dead by now,**" I continued, turning to the Benydel boy. He reached through the bars and held out a hand.

"N-nice to m-meet you, Hiccup," he said, stuttering over the Viking a bit. Hiccup smiled pleasantly and shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you, too, Simon. Addie, what's going on? I heard you two mention Gale, so I figured there was something I needed to know. Like, say, is that maniac gonna try and kill us?" I shrugged (man, my shoulders and back were going to be so strong after this adventure was over) and turned back to Simon.

"**Does Gust know what he's up to?**" I asked him grimly. If Gale's son could help us avoid any problems, then I had no qualms about using him like that. And if Simon had managed to get more than just a vague warning from him, then even better. The more we knew, the more likely it was that we could escape successfully. Simon shook his head.

"**All he knows is that he's arranging to get all of the weapons you made and exchange them for some the House of Winds made, and is planning to get only the guards loyal to him to appear at his initiation,**" he replied, pointing at Hiccup. I quickly translated for his sake, then looked at the ceiling in thought.

"Okay, that might put a damper on things, but don't worry. I'll think of something. I always do, right, Hiccup?" I said, recovering from the slight blow this had dealt to the master plan. He didn't look completely convinced, but nodded in agreement anyway. I know he was thinking of Toothless when he did that. If there was anyone Hiccup cared about most in the world, it was that Night Fury. Right now, I was their best chance of getting out of here in one piece, so he was willing to put up with my show of bravado.

But inside, I was scared. There was no guarantee that I could protect them from what those guards might do in the Ynahy, or that I could even help me and Frostwave if push came to shove. I didn't dare to think about what would happen if they managed to recapture all of us. No one had ever dared to do something like what we were planning, so there was no recorded punishment in the Luda uv Benydac. Which could be very, very bad for us if we were caught again. Especially for me.

There was the sound of heavy boots getting louder, and Simon looked toward them fearfully. He looked back at us briefly.

"Well, gotta go." With that, he took off in the other direction, probably to loop around to the exit. I stared after him sadly. If only Simon weren't so afraid of his father, he wouldn't have to act like that. My musings were cut short by the arrival of breakfast. Jeez, everything keeps getting interrupted (**A.N. Sorry, Addie, but thems the breaks**). The guard seemed surprised to see us at the door, but fortunately he didn't drop the food.

"**That hungry, are ya? Well, don't expect any seconds,**" he said, probably thinking himself very clever with that last remark. He pushed the food through with a dry chuckled and walked away, whistling the Faith Song cheerfully. Meanwhile, I took the food and rejoined Frostwave and Toothless in their huddle underneath the grate. Hiccup sat against Toothless, like always, and I copied suit with Frostwave then distributed the breakfast.

In the middle of a mouthful of vegetable broth and bread, Hiccup asked me something shocking.

"So, is there anything going on between you and Simon?" he said casually. I nearly choked on my food, but managed to avoid that humiliating and possibly fatal incident by swallowing it painfully instead.

"W-what? What in the name of Odin gave you that idea?" I stuttered, shocked by the topic of discussion. He avoided looking at me, but I think some pink started to form in his cheeks.

"Well, it's just that you two seem pretty close, so..." I stared at him until the ridiculousness of the question finally sank in and I started to laugh uncontrollably. Frostwave's eyes widened in alarm, but soon went back to normal when she realized I was just being me.

"_Are you done?_" she growled petulantly. I held up a finger to tell them to wait, and when the laughter had subsided enough for me to breathe I wiped the tears from my eyes and shook my head.

"No, Hiccup, we are not a thing. Simon is like a brother to me. That's all. The very idea..." My sentence disappeared in another wave of giggles, until Frostwave swatted my head with her tail and cut it short with my cry of pain.

"Hey! Anyways, why are you asking? Hmm?" I asked, turning the tables on him. He blushed and sighed.

"Well, it just seemed like a valid question. You two seem very close," Hiccup replied defensively. I chuckled.

"Yeah, 'cause we're like brother and sister. What about you? Got anyone special on your mind? Maybe someone back on Berk?" He blushed even deeper and looked away.

"There's this one girl, but I don't know if it'll work. We've only been together for a short time, and I like what I've seen of her so far, but I don't know how she feels about me," he answered cryptically. I raised an eyebrow, but didn't press further. If Hiccup wasn't gonna talk, then I wasn't gonna force him. I tried to respect private matters like that. The operative word here being "tried." Sometimes, my curiosity would get the better of me, and I would ask very personal questions. It was probably a side effect of my healer training. We're taught to learn everything we can about how the ailment came to pass, including digging into what may be considered risque matters. Just another joy of my childhood. Learning exactly how someone came to have a sprained ankle is not something I would recommend to the faint of heart, or even to anyone with a hope of retaining their innocence. Yeesh. Even if it made me recall just what had happened to me four years ago...

"Well, I hope it does work out," I replied eventually. Then Frostwave swatted me with her tail. Again.

"**Okay, what is your problem?**" I snapped, whirling around to face her. She sighed out a cloud of tiny ice crystals and narrowed her eyes.

"_You are so dense sometimes!_" she growled irritably before prowling off to join Toothless near Hiccup. I stared after her in mute shock. Frostwave had never acted like this before. Hiccup also seemed surprised, but thankfully he didn't comment on Frostwave's actions. I groaned quietly.

At that moment, I would have welcomed a wave of guards to fight. Anything to work off this frustration. But since I was not to be obliged with some opponents, I took the next best thing. I stood up, backed against a wall, and ran forward to leap up and grab the grate. Sure, it seemed a bit showy, but it worked, because I could now work off all that excess energy in making sure I was in tiptop shape for our escape.

_One half hour and plenty of calories later..._

Frostwave had decided to forgive me for whatever I had done and was now permitting me to lounge against her side, well worked out and dripping with sweat. Hiccup looked at me inscrutably.

"What? I needed some way to work off all that energy," I grumbled, folding my arms across my... less than ample chest. Okay, was it really my fault that I was fifteen and didn't have the body of a woman? I blamed the food, tasty though it was.

But Hiccup's reply cut my internal rail against the cruelty of fate short by at least five minutes.

"What happens at initiation that's so terrible you want to help us get out of here, even when it means you'll be risking your own life?"

3rd Person POV: Hiccup

Addie froze up and blanched, her face becoming ghostly white from the blood draining away. Her mouth opened slightly in a terrified silent gape. But just as quickly, she regained control and color and turned away grimly.

"You ever hear of how there are no painless lessons?" Addie said suddenly, changing the subject rather obviously. Hiccup sighed, but she did have a point. Nothing worth learning came without consequences. He wasn't going to be diverted that easily, though.

"You still haven't answered my question. Listen, if it's really terrible, you don't have to tell me all the details, but I'd like to know what they have planned for me," he said firmly, raising an eyebrow. Addie looked away, her face starting to pale again, then sighed heavily.

"Let's just say, you'll wish you were still in prison," she retorted darkly, scowling with malevolent anger toward the rest of Blackstone.

* * *

And that was that. For the next few hours, Addie said nothing else except basic commands and one-word replies to his questions. Not when she was helping with his little souvenir from Gale and bringing them dinner from the door. Not when she started chewing on some mint leaves and rinsing her mouth out with water, then spitting it into the corner no one went into. Not when Toothless accidentally hit her back with his tail during a mild game of chase with Frostwave and she flinched away from that brief touch. Not when it was time to sleep. And certainly not when their eyes met a few times, and he could see the painful memories haunting her. Deep inside, Hiccup wondered what was so terrible that an ex-pirate would dread the very thought of it and do her best to prevent it from happening to someone she barely knew.

He let out an exhausted sigh. Well, whatever it was, he wouldn't ever have to go through it. Not if Addie and Frostwave could help it.

**Author's Notes: Whew! Your translations, wonderful readers.**

**Benydel - Piratic**

**Ynahy – Arena**

**Luda uv Benydac – Code of Pirates**

**Now that was a lot. Okay, you patient and awesomely faithful readers. They're nearly out of there. Just two more days. Two more chapters, a bunch of flashbacks and hints from my OC's about the past, and then they're home free! And Addie and Astrid will finally meet. Oh, the sparks that will fly, and not just from Stormfly. Hey, that rhymed.**

**I'll stop being dumb now.**

**And hey, at least we get to see Addie react to more Vikings! ...Oh, God. Stoick is going to meet her. Run, everyone! At this rate, Berk will be destroyed!**

**Review! That's an order! Okay, not really, but you get the point. Give me your feedback! I live off of it, and it makes me feel happy whenever I see it.**

**See ya! Wild Cat 214, out!**


	8. Chapter 7: Developments

**Author's Notes: Hey everyone! I'm gonna go ahead and post this chapter even without a review for the last one, simply because I want to share with you all the intense character growth in this chapter for my OC's. And remember, I have complete control over the fate of my characters... even your favorites! No one is safe!... except Toothless. But he's the only exception. No one else, not even Adeline, is protected from my evil ways. But that's a story for much, MUCH later on.**

**Adeline: Wait, what? What do you have planned?**

**Wild Cat 214: Like I'd tell you. You'll just have to wait and see.**

**And just a warning, this is going to be one LONG chapter. Longer than any of my others. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!**

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**Disclaimer: I'm running out of ways to say this, so I'll just be boring. I only own my OC's, not HTTYD. Those dragons and Vikings are DreamWorks' property only.**

_Day 6_

3rd Person POV: The Captain

The morning dawned bright and early on the Captain in his luxuriant quarters, and he smiled. Tomorrow was the day Adeline would rejoin the island. She would become one of the island's blacksmiths and healers, marry Simon, and be a wonderful daughter-in-law, just like he had prayed to the gods for.

He slowly got out of bed, and the familiar pain just above where his prosthetic leg was attached began again. Damn storm. The mast that had fallen across his leg and forced the previous healers to amputate it was still wreaking its havoc on him. But he hadn't come out too bad. Most people wouldn't mess with a man with a sword for a leg, especially not a Blackstone pirate. The Captain grabbed the eye patch on the stone bedside table and put a hand to his ruined left eye wistfully. There had been a time when he was a spry young man with a complete body, but that had been years ago. He thought back resentfully to that fateful day, fifteen years ago, to the storm that had killed his wife, damaged his body, and forced him to raise his son alone.

* * *

_It had started out like any other raid. They had been lying in wait for a rich trade vessel to fall right into their trap, waiting for the storm that they knew was coming to hit and weaken the defenses of the no doubt well-protected ship, and she had turned to him. Memo, his darling dear, a queen among pirates and the love of his life, was raring to go. She had always been one for no holds barred rushing into a fight, and that was only part of the reason he loved her._

_"_**_Shine_**_**, is it time? Can we go now?**__" she asked eagerly. He smiled and shook his head endearingly._

_"__**Not yet, my sweet. Soon.**__" Chuf had come up behind them at that moment and was grinning at them conspiratorially._

_"__**Hey, you two lovebirds. Save it for when we're back home. Then you can tell your son all about your great feats,**__" she said loudly. She was Memo's younger sister, and while Chuf had the yellow six-pointed star of a hunter, her sister had the orange mark of a trainer permanently placed above her eye. Shine slapped her back lightly, the camaraderie between the three of them almost tangible._

_"__**And you can tell **_**_Gale_**_** and **_**_Gust_**_** all about how you single-handedly captured the ship,**__" Memo replied enjoyably._

_"__**You know it!**__" Chuf replied. They laughed, but a piercing whistle from the crow's nest stopped them and made them perk up with tense attention. The merchant ship had come into view and was getting closer and closer, just like the storm. Shine put a hand to her shoulder._

_"__**Thank you, **_**_Chuf_**_**. I know this whole ordeal has been tough on you, but when you look back on this years from now you'll be glad you did it,**__" he said consolingly. For a moment, her face became pained and depressed, but she broke free of those feelings to smile at him proudly._

_"__**Anything for my Captain,**__" she answered, putting a hand to his kindly. He nodded and turned back, letting go of her and raising that same hand into the air to prepare for the signal. Once there was a quick burst of two more whistles, he closed it. Immediately, the raider started its silent approach on the poor, unsuspecting ship. And all the while, dark storm clouds gathered overhead, making the sea churn and foam and the atmosphere become tense._

* * *

_The storm hit the ship with all its fury, sending torrents of rain to hit them as hard as hail and creating bolts of lightning to flash across a scene from a nightmare. Men and women were battling on the slippery deck, with the bodies of the fallen lying about their feet like sacks of flour. Shine and Memo were fighting back-to-back, covering each other in a whirlwind of death. Not far away, Chuf was slicing away at three burly men who wielded sharp blades and axes._

_The ship had more guards than they had expected, but it didn't matter. Blackstone pirates lived for the thrill of battle, the glory of victory, and the treasure that they loved so much. Not even a squad of Berserker mercenaries was enough to dampen their enthusiasm. Not even a squad of Berkserker mercenaries and a typhoon was enough. Not even a... well, you get the point. Their assault was as merciless as the storm they used to cripple the huge trade ship, bigger than most of the Barbaric Archipelago's ships and loaded with more valuables than your average Viking would see in his or her own lifetime. And they had a system that would ensure they would get something out of this raid._

_While the first, larger wave of pirates attacked and drew attention to the deck, the second wave, usually the smaller and less-noticeable men and women of the crew, would sneak into the holds and loot it, using the chaos of the furious battle combined with the ferocity of the storm to hide their presence. And Shine was proud to fight in the first wave. Sure, the second wave meant you were responsible for the island's well-being, but the first wave equaled the opportunity to prove yourself in combat. Not even the blinding lightning and rain could ruin the rush that came with being the strongest._

_There was a deafening crack and a burst of light, and the mast began to fall, thanks to Thor's handiwork. Time seemed to slow down as it separated Shine and Memo and there was a blood-curdling scream of pain. The thick, heavy wooden pole had landed right on top of Shine's right leg, crushing the bones within as if they were made of glass. Memo stopped fighting to try and get the mast off of him, and that was when an enterprising defender of the ship decided to take advantage of her turned back and strike. Shine could do nothing as the mace swung through the air in its deadly trajectory. Not even his yells for her to move could be heard through the pounding rain and booming thunder, and with one sickening thump that echoed across the deck, Memo fell, her blood leaking out and being washed away by the indifferent storm._

_There was a shriek of despair across the deck, and Shine managed to push himself up enough to see Chuf over the mast pinning him down. Her eyes were wild, her attacks were ferocious, and he realized what had happened. Her father had been a captured Berserker, and now that blood was roaring to the front of her mind and drowning everything else out. She set out on a course of death across the ship, disregarding any strikes a lucky few managed to get in on her body, and arrived just in time to save him from being killed by the defender who had slaughtered her sister. Her swords managed to cut the man so much that it was a miracle he was still standing, but slowly he slumped to the ground in the lethal embrace of death. Chuf pulled him out painfully from below that long piece of wood and handed him her belt buckle, then grabbed the similar one from Memo's waist and did the same._

_"__**Take everyone and get them out of here!**__" she shouted over the wind and waves. Shine looked at her despairingly._

_"__**What are you planning?**__" he shouted back. She set her mouth in a grim line before answering._

_"__**I'm ending this battle! Now hurry! And tell **_**_Gale_**_** and **_**_Gust_**_** I love them!**__" Chuf replied before diving back into the fray. Erin, a young guard on her first raid, stumbled over to him._

_"__**Captain! Where's **_**_Chuf_**_** going?**__" she screamed. He didn't answer._

_"__**Captain?**__" she yelled again, worry creeping into her voice. She grabbed his shoulder and saw his leg, but instead of retching she simply helped him up and carried him back to the ship, which was tied against the merchant vessel tightly. The other pirates saw this and began to retreat until finally only Chuf was left on board._

_When the _**Treasure Hunter**_'s crew had returned and was starting to sail away, Shine got back onto the trade ship. He could hear a terrible battle going on below deck, and though every step he took caused knives of pain to stab into his leg he pressed on, trying to rescue Chuf from almost certain death. Before he had taken one step further, the ship exploded below him, forcing him backwards. A piece of burning metal hit his left eye and made it burn with sheer agony just before he dropped into the water. The buckles in his pocket were the only things he could really feel as Shine sank below the tossing waves, and the scream of his crew as he fell rang in his ears._

_"__**CAPTAIN!**__"_

_His mind began to go fuzzy from lack of air, and Shine was ready to give up. His wife was dead, her sister had sacrificed herself to help them get away, and now this? _

_'Simon could be raised by the rest of the island,' he reasoned, 'He's a good boy. He'll pick up fast and become the next Captain.'_

_With that receding thought, Shine blacked out, with only the faint sensation of being held in strong arms and the feeling of cold air against his face being the last things he felt. And a shout of despair, of fading hope still caught in his ears._

_"__**Captain!**__"_

* * *

"**Captain?**" a voice said at his side. He blinked his way out of the reverie and turned. A young boy, freshly pierced by the looks of him, was standing next to him, watching him both curiously and worriedly. He smiled reassuringly at him.

"**It's nothing, um...**"

"**Thomas, sir.** **Thomas Thomas,**" the boy replied proudly. He recognized him now. One of the many kids of the House of Shocks, a house known for being reproductive. He was Lynne's boy, and was training to be a hunter for the island.

"**It's nothing, Thomas. But thank you for your concern. Did you need something?**" he asked as kindly as he could for someone who had just relived a traumatizing experience. Thomas nodded cheerfully.

"**Yes, sir. My mum would like to know what you have planned for the initiation ceremony tomorrow,**" he recited, sounding as if he did this a lot. The Captain sighed.

"**The **Ytubdaa** in the dungeon will rejoin the island, and the prisoner with her will kill his **tnykuh** and go through the various **nedac uv byccyka**,**" he informed Thomas tiredly. The boy nodded, chewing on his lip as he memorized this new info before smiling and running off. The Captain stared after him wistfully. If only he could do the same, just smile and run wherever he liked. But he was the Captain, and no matter how much he wished it weren't so, he couldn't leave the island to do whatever he liked.

The glint of silver in the corner of his eye made him look for the source. A stray beam of sunlight from the carefully constructed passage above him lined with mirrors had struck the belt buckle on his table. A sprig of some flower was surrounded by five leaves, the etching as delicate as the blossom it depicted. A lily of the valley, the bell-shaped blooms gently curving in an arc. Memo's belt buckle, a grim reminder of what happened when you weren't careful. When you cared about others too much...

The Captain forced his mind away from this train of thought and instead focused on preparing for the initiation tomorrow. The prisoner would need his own piercings and tattoo, and that had to be arranged for a day before the event. Otherwise the craftsmen in charge would start railing about how they never got advance notice for something like this and would do a poor job as a result. He stood up unsteadily and walked out the door, ignoring the pain in his heart when he thought of that day and what it had torn from him.

3rd Person POV: Gale

Gale walked down the halls toward the guard barracks, where the purple-marked men and women slept apart from the rest of the island. Each house had its own male and female dormitories, and he paced toward the pair of doors marked with the triangle of the House of Winds. One hand knocked on the door to the male half, and a yawning young man opened it in reply a few minutes later.

"**Yeah...? Whoa! Forgive me, sir! I had no idea you were coming!**" he yelped when he saw who it was at the door. Gale pushed down the snide feelings and walked past him into the dorm. Men in various stages of dress and undress were standing at attention by their hammocks, each praying to the gods that he wouldn't be here to punish them.

"**Men, I have a job for you,**" he said calmly.

_Half an hour and one trip to the female dorm later..._

Satisfaction brought a smug smile to Gale's face. Now that his guards, loyal to him only, knew what he wanted of them, he had confidence that the stupid Ytubdaa girl would never be able to enact her plan, whatever it was. Sure, his son's friendship with that traitor Simon was worrying, but it didn't matter right now. They couldn't help the girl now. Chuf would have liked that. Probably.

Even now, thinking back to what she had been forced to do for her island made him feel sick. Couldn't the other heads have realized that every time she had to betray her people like that, she was losing a part of herself? Even if it was to the island's benefit... He shook his head. The other heads weren't to blame. It was the Captain's fault she had died, his fault he was now a widower and his son was half an orphan, his fault they had lost so much. Gale thought about how he had known his wife was dead long before the _Treasure Hunter_ had returned.

* * *

_There had been a chilling scream from deep within the island, but it wasn't close to being human. It was the sound of an animal in the deepest pain imaginable, boring right into your soul with the pure sorrow it held. Then... it stopped. The absence of that cry was more worrying than the cry itself, and he had rushed to the source only to cover his mouth in an effort to hold back the bile that rose to the back of his throat. That _thing_ had been lying in a pool of its own watery red blood, the blade on its tail being the cause of its demise. From what he and the other six heads could see, it had felt some sort of immense emotional pain somehow and had cut its own throat, not wanting to live anymore. And that _thing_ had been bonded to his wife, which could only mean one thing. Chuf was dead, her soul already on its way to Valhalla._

_Gale had fallen to his knees when he realized this life-changing event, ignoring the translucent crimson fluid being absorbed by his pants and soaking his legs with the cool touch of the lifeblood. That thing's crimson eyes were staring out at the world sightlessly, despair frozen in its dead gaze, and in that moment they shared the same eyes. The loss of Chuf had killed them both, leaving them empty shells devoid of true life. The only difference between them was that one was a dead tnykuh and the other was a living human._

_An echoing cry rose up from his throat in answer to the fading scream that still resounded in the furthest corners of the tunnels, the sound of an undying grief made by two kindred souls._

* * *

While he had remembered that fateful day, his feet had subconsciously taken him to the armory, where the next part of his plan waited to be enacted. He snapped out of it and started walking down the aisles of weapons, some normal, some barely even considered tools of the trade. He went down them and picked out all the ones with the seal of the House of Winds, the usual triangle (**A.N. What? You were expecting a parallelogram?**) marking those made by his family only. With the heap of different weapons in his arms, Gale set off toward the rack of weapons on the far side of the room and began replacing each one with something from his arms, grinning maliciously.

Soon. Soon he could replace that idiot Captain and take his rightful place as the ruler of Blackstone. And his first decree would be to exterminate all dragons on the island, including the two in the dungeon right now. Then... that Ytubdaa girl would face her punishment for betraying them all, for betraying _him_ in such a terrible way, and he could finally have his perfect Blackstone Island.

3rd Person POV: Simon

Simon didn't know what to do. What he had managed to pick up yesterday from Addie and Gust worried him. What was Addie planning? What was Gale planning, for that matter? And why hadn't Addie told him about the nightmare before he left? His head hurt, and he instinctively reached for the mug of water on his bedside table, only to remember that it wasn't there. It was sitting in a basin somewhere about to be washed for the initiation feast tomorrow. Hopefully, Addie and that boy, Hiccup, would be alive to see it.

He resigned himself to a dry throat and a headache and started to pace. Of course Addie hadn't told him. She never told anyone anything personal. Well, except for that Hiccup boy. It looked like she had told him almost everything. A wave of jealousy broke through him, only to be replaced by one of shame. Addie wasn't his, and he shouldn't act like that. Besides, he knew how she felt about him.

"**Like brother and sister, huh?**" he muttered resignedly. Well, it was better than nothing. And maybe one day he could get over these feelings, though it would hurt, and they could look back on this without worrying about what could have been. It was obvious Addie was infatuated with Hiccup. Simon could tell just by hearing her talk to him and the way she had looked at him whenever they were talking together. There was no room in her heart for poor Simon, and he had accepted that, difficult though it was. He could take second prize as her brother. And by the gods, he would be the best brother possible. Simon owed it to her. She had listened to his fears, his confessions, his dreams, and had promised to help him with each one some day; now he would help her. First things first, though. He had to find some way to prevent Gale from trying anything during the ceremony.

A devious idea popped into his head, and he thought of one prank he and Addie had played as children. His first goal was to gather as much flax as he could find in the village gardens high above on the surface and take out all the linseed. Then he would add a good amount to the morning soup just before it left the kitchen and pray for the worst. He started to chuckle evilly, but caught himself just before it could grow in volume. It wouldn't do to attract attention right now. Not until he was ready to enact the plan. Simon stepped out of his room a confident young man, a glimpse of what he would become when he was older and led the island in his father's place, and started the arduous journey to the gardens.

Frostwave's POV

It was late afternoon by the time Addie and Hiccup started talking about their master plan. I, meanwhile, was preoccupied with getting a particularly stubborn piece of dried fish out of my teeth. Having food in my teeth was a horrible feeling that I detested the same way many dragons hate eels. Personally, I find them... acceptable. Not my favorite, no, that was reserved for salmon and cod and chicken, but I would eat eel if I had no other choice. Survival meant doing what you had to, even if you hated it.

I half-listened to them talking, thinking back on what had happened since Addie and I had met. So much had changed. I had lost Cloudstar and was trying to drown my sorrows in the Grass That Pleases Us (humans call it dragon nip) when I had met Addie. We had flown together for several months until I had been hit by the spines of one of Those Who Pride Themselves On Skill (the human name for them is the Deadly Nadder), and Addie had snuck me in through the Ynahy skylight so she could heal me with some of her strange goo. But we had been caught when I had stopped to investigate a bucket that smelled like salmon, and I had made too much noise doing so. I know Addie blames herself for our capture, but it was really me. My instincts had taken over and had changed me from the elegant keeper of the creator's ways into a ravenous beast. But really, when salmon is on the line, could you blame me?

That time seemed like so long ago, but in reality it was only two and a half leaf-cycles. And in the time before we had met, Addie had suffered some terrible trauma. She had told me all about it when we had been bonded for a month, what they, especially _that man_, had done to her as a child. It made me want to rip out his throat and feed it to Those That Scavenge From Others (humans call them Terrible Terrors, though they are certainly not terrifying).

There was a brief moment of silence from Addie and that Hiccup boy she liked, and I realized I had vented some of my rage in the form of a growl. The Night Fury – also known as Those Protected By the Night – came up to me meekly and growled out a question.

"Is something wrong, Frostwave?" he asked. This question was mimicked moments later by my bondmate. I shook my head to clear away the dark clouds of hatred overtaking it. This was not how a guardian of dragon history should act, certainly not before her bondmate, one of her allies, and his bondmate.

"It is nothing, Addie," I growled evenly. She didn't seem convinced, but that was my bondmate for you. Years of living with pirates made her suspicious of anyone saying it was "nothing" to her face, even when that someone was her dragon. Ah, well.

"_Whatever. We're just going over the final details of the plan, Frostwave. Care to help? Maybe give us some suggestions?_" Addie said. I flared out my wings with pleasure and walked over, my claws clicking against the stone floor. Together, we mapped out the final stages of our plan, and I made a few changes to it, keeping in mind Addie's strengths and weaknesses. A Silver Horror, a Night Fury, a pirate girl, and a Viking boy, up against hundreds of pirates itching to fight us all. They would never know what hit them.

_A few hours later..._

Adeline's POV

Slowly, the lights from above were extinguished, leaving me and Hiccup in darkness. My eyes adjusted to the inky blackness, and I could see his dim shape a short distance away, against a spot of pure black that was probably Toothless. Frostwave's silver-white body had become a twilight gray, and I could barely see my hand in front of my face. Now seemed like a good time to think about what was coming.

I rolled onto my side and thought hard about what I was going to do when we escaped. I was going to go to Berk with Hiccup, and hopefully I could live there as peacefully as possible when it came to Vikings. But first, we would have to hope the plan would work. All our preparations could be for nothing, if there were more guards than I had expected, or they had finally fixed the mechanism that blocked off the skylight, or even if they managed to capture one of us again.

I didn't want any of us to get hurt anymore. Not Frostwave, not Toothless, and definitely not Hiccup. The idea that he would have to go through initiation and then either face his first test or die made me want to tear the world apart just to keep it from happening. And that's when I realized it. The truth hit me like a bolt from the blue.

I was in love with Hiccup.

And the pathetic thing about that was I was the last to know, except maybe Hiccup himself. Frostwave knew days before I did, and I bet many of the heads could tell at my hearing. Gale certainly had a smug smile on his face when the Captain was granting my request, so he was definitely among their number.

'...But what if Hiccup didn't feel the same?,' a small voice replied, 'What if he was okay with being friends?'

'If that's the case, I'll just have to deal. But right now, no one is here to stop me.' I knew that I had to take it slow. So I just asked him for something small.

"Hiccup? Are you awake?" I asked quietly into the darkness. I could barely see him lift his head.

"You can't sleep either, huh?" he replied tiredly. I nodded, though remembered that he couldn't see me.

"Yeah... hey, can I hold your hand?" I said, my voice no more than a breath. There was a pause, and I thought he hadn't heard me. I was about to ask again when he gave me his answer.

"...Sure." There was the rustle of cloth moving, and I felt the warmth of his hand in mine. Calluses on both of us rubbed against each other as we shifted to more comfortable positions to support this arrangement, and I could feel myself blush. I just hoped Hiccup couldn't feel it through my hand.

"Thank you..." I whispered into the dark. He mumbled something softly that I couldn't hear, but it didn't matter. Tomorrow we would be free, and I could see just what I was up against on Berk. I closed my eyes happily to dream of a better future.

**Author's Notes: Behold! I have typed up your translations!**

**Ytubdaa – Adoptee**

**tnykuh – dragon**

**nedac uv byccyka – rites of passage**

**Ynahy – Arena**

**Isn't Hiccup lucky? He's got two awesome girls interested in him. And to think, if it wasn't for Toothless, he wouldn't be in this awkward position. I guess you could say he was Hiccup's wingman (Ba-dum, tss). Bad jokes aside, it's coming. Don't you see? All of you... MY STORY IS READY! Ready for what, you ask? Ready for Adeline and Hiccup to escape!**

**Wild Cat 214, out!**


	9. Chapter 8: Escapes

**Wild Cat 214, in! (See what I did there? *cricket chirps* You people are no fun)**

**Author's Notes: Hiccup and Adeline are finally escaping, but things aren't going to go as smoothly as they planned. Why? Because I like causing trouble for my characters. Especially if that trouble results in... oh, but I can't tell you. I want you to enjoy the surprise :P. Just a warning: this is gonna be a LONG chapter. Why? A lot happens in the space of one day. So BE PREPARED! (Yes, our teeth and ambitions are bared!) Okay, that's enough references.**

**I've also changed my mind (again) and I've decided that How to Train Your Dragon 2 will be in Part 3: Clash, instead of Part 2: Fire. This is mostly because otherwise it will be so long I don't think I could handle it. I am lacking in the stamina department, unfortunately.**

**Now, to honor the people that have reviewed... and give them READER COOKIES!**

**MMM – You are my most faithful and beloved reviewer, so you're going first. Sorry I haven't answered any of your questions in previous AN's, but I'm doing it now. Better late than never. Yes, they will go back to Berk and meet the others, and eventually they will have a jealous Astrid. At first, Astrid will not be happy about Addie. Hiccup and Addie may already have feelings for each other, but Addie only realized that last chapter. And sadly, Addie is going to be nice and not get in the way just yet when they return. Hiccup still likes Astrid, but in a more platonic way. Berk and the others will be pretty hostile at first, but will eventually warm up to her. There. You happy? I've given you some insight into the next few chapters.**

**Firewolf2012 – I will add Sunspirit and Flameheart into my story in Part 3: Clash. I promise you that. In fact, they might actually start off the third segment. Maybe ;)**

**Tempest the Seawing – Thanks for your support!**

**Arissa895 – And thank you for your praise. I'll do my best to post more chapters soon!**

**ADKlover – Thank you for your splendiferous praise. To answer your question, Adeline was a name given to me by my friends while I was trying to come up with the female protagonist of Frozen Thunder, which was originally going to feature Adeline and her Snow Fury, White Fang. Gale was one of the racing lords, the employer/owner of the Storm Riders, alongside Tobias of the Thunder Racers. Simon, well, I just felt like that should be his name. Frostwave... well, I'll explain her name later. For the other pirates, if you know what Benydeyh really is, their names are actually different words in that language. Gust was a really lame reason: he was a member of the House of Winds, so that's his name. Same for the Captain/Shine. Thomas Thomas of the House of Shocks is the name of a brief character in a Doctor Who episode (The Crimson Horror). And with some of the other characters, it'll just be a name that came to me. My muse supplied them. Actually, that applies for a lot of what I have planned.**

**And to the Guests that have reviewed, thanks as well. I'm glad that there are people out there who do like my work. Reader Cookies for everyone!**

**To honor those who have favorited/followed as of this typing, a moment...**

**Favorited – Reaper495; darkness surrounds me**

**Followed – Reaper495**

**Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN HTTYD. JUST MY OC'S. (See what I did there? Adding some variety with a push of a button. And no, I did not accidentally press CAPS LOCK. hONESTLY!**

_The Final Day_

3rd Person POV: Gale

Finally. The day had come for Adeline to face the Ynahy and return to her place as one of the healers and blacksmiths of Blackstone. Personally, he had been amazed when, at eight years, the timid little girl that had decided to take on two difficult jobs had proven to be one of the most stubborn people he had met. Not as stubborn as Chuf, though. His beloved Chuf...

When he had first seen the Ytubdaa, he had been struck with a sense of being given a second chance. Despite the fact that their eyes and hair were different colors, Adeline had looked exactly like Chuf at that age. Maybe the gods had taken pity on him for losing his wife, and had allowed him the chance to make up for not being able to protect her from her fate. Whatever the reason, Gale had sworn to raise her to be just like his wife, even if she had been taken in by the House of Lights. Was it his fault she hadn't liked his methods, and had managed to resist every attempt to train her correctly? His fault she had instead spurned his efforts and become the dnyedunuic, buecuh-cilgehk tnylubrema she was now, instead of the loyal, helpful healer she should have been?

Well, he was going to change all that. Maybe the little bit of Chuf he had seen inside her on that fateful day would help convince her to change her ways. Gale knew people could change. He had, those fifteen years ago, just like the Captain had at the same time, and the House of Snows that had lost two of their own. And if they could change, then a young woman that was easily swayed could, too.

_A few hours previously..._

Adeline's POV

I couldn't sleep. I would black out for an hour, then wake up all jittery. Maybe it was excitement from the fact that I was going to get out of here today. Maybe it was nervousness that we wouldn't make it. Maybe it was because of Hiccup's hand still gripping mine like a lifeline. I didn't know. And the truth is, I was scared.

I know, right? A pirate claiming to be scared. But I was. I was scared that we wouldn't get out. I was scared that Hiccup would get hurt. I was scared that I would lose the people most important to me. But most of all, I was scared of the future. Say we did get out. How would Berk treat me? Would I just be tossed into another jail? Would I be treated like garbage?

I needed to stop thinking.

Thinking was only making things worse. The future was hidden from me, and no amount of worrying was going to help. I just had to take whatever the gods threw at me and make do.

I took a deep breath to calm my nerves and tried to get some more sleep.

_Three hours later..._

I was shaken awake from my nervous dreams by Hiccup's urgent hands. Privately, I mourned the loss of that simple connection, and publicly, I sat up.

"What is it, Hiccup?" I asked sleepily. He looked up at the grate worriedly.

"Something's going on up there, but I can't understand them. Can you tell me what they're saying?" he asked, pointing at the tramping feet passing by, casting their shadows on us erratically. I worked the kernels of sleep out of my eyes and tried to listen.

"**You looking forward to the arena match today?**" a woman I recognized as Feht said eagerly. The person next to her, judging by his limp, was probably her husband, Cdyn.

"**Of course. I can't wait to see the new guy's face when he's initiated,**" he replied, the thirst for blood sneaking into the cracks in his voice. They were the youngest married couple on Blackstone; Feht was related to Gale on her father's side, and Cdyn was once an Ytubdaa like myself. He had the star to prove it, green ink forming the brand of an outsider. They passed by, and another group of people took their place on the march to the arena. Now it was a cluster of girls, the same ones that had excluded me from their games so many years ago.

"**I hear Adeline has decided to kill that **tnykuh**!**" one squealed. There were some anticipatory giggles from the others.

"**I wonder if that new guy is cute,**" another speculated. There were some more giggles. Gods, they were annoying.

"**If he is, Simon might have some competition,**" a third whispered. They let out some scandalized giggles, and I decided I had had enough. I jumped up, clutched the bars with one hand, and reached the other up to grab one girl's ankle. She shrieked with surprise. Before she could see what had happened, I let go and dropped down into the shadows.

"**What was that?**" she shouted, terrified. The other girls started snickering over her fear, and eventually they moved on, bickering about the recent event. I folded my arms in front of me proudly.

"**No one gets to have Hiccup but me**," I muttered. A pair of eyes bore into my back, and I turned sheepishly. Hiccup was looking at me expectantly.

"What?" I said quietly. He pointed at the grate.

"Mind telling me what that was all about?" he asked. I smiled guiltily.

"Oh, uh, nothing, nothing, just messing with them. It's fun to hear them shriek," I replied maliciously. He sighed.

"And they were trying to elbow in on my territory," I added under my breath, turning my head to the side.

"I'm sorry?" I jumped and looked at him. He had moved closer when I had looked away, and now he was standing a few feet away, gazing at me intensely. I had never noticed before how clear his eyes were, like some of the gems in the Jyimd that I would sneak in to watch as they sparkled in the torchlight. I realized he had been waiting for me to answer him while I had probably been staring off into space, and I blushed a bit. That was when I remembered that I hadn't said it in Benydeyh, but Viking, and I blushed even harder.

"I didn't say anything," I said defensively. "What makes you think I said something?" Hiccup shrugged.

"Oh, nothing, just the fact that I heard you say my name while you were speaking Benydeyh, and then there was that moment when I thought you mentioned territory of some kind. But _maybe_ I was just hearing things," he replied smugly. I wanted to wipe that smirk off his face, and I knew just how to do it. All I'd have to do is pull him down to my height and- no! This was not the time to be thinking about that sort of thing.

'Get your head out of the trough,' I mentally scolded myself. 'Right now, you need to be a tough pirate girl. Frostwave needs you, just like Hiccup and Toothless do.'

"So what were they saying?" he prompted, breaking into my thoughts. I shook my head slightly to get my mind back on track.

"Huh? Oh, well, Feht and Cdyn are looking forward to the arena match, and those girls were talking about us. Right now," I said, changing the subject quickly, "they're mostly talking about local gossip. Boring stuff, just the usual family rivalries, scandals, and rumors that make up pirate life. Nothing of real interest." He sighed and I grinned.

"But I bet Berk is much more fun. Open air, dragons, fishing, hunting, a charming view of the sunset," I exclaimed, quoting his description of Berk from a few days ago. He smiled at that, and a warm, fuzzy feeling rose up inside me. By the gods, Hiccup was cute when he smiled.

'Now isn't the time to be thinking about that!' my head shouted at me. Sadly, the head was right. Right now I needed to think about the plan. Focus on beating the odds and escaping. Then I could think about Hiccup, and what might be.

My mental scolding was cut short (again) by the coming of our escorts. Twenty men and women wearing thick steel armor and fur, their weapons on their backs, at their waists, in their hands, and pretty much everywhere else. When it came to defense, or attack, or both, Blackstone pirates were the best equipped. Maybe not the best, but definitely the best armed. Their captain, a stiff-lipped woman with a rod up her spine, unlocked our cell door and kept us in her line of sight while the other nineteen marched inside. The ten closest to us lowered their spears, swords, and axes, keeping them level with our hearts and heads. Don't underestimate a Blackstone guard. It can get you killed.

Wait, let me revise that. It WILL get you killed.

3rd Person POV: Hiccup

The guards secured tight leather bands connected with chains to their wrists, muzzles to the dragons, and special fetters to the ankles of their best friends. Then they were marched out of the cell into the darkened halls of the dungeon. On and on they went until finally they came to a large metal gate. A woman standing next to it did some sort of salute by waving her arms around, swinging one leg back in a half circle, bringing her hands to meet in front of her to form a circle, and bowing to the lead guard. She pulled open the gate, and the four prisoners were shoved inside rudely. Hiccup was shocked to hear a hollow sound beneath his foot and metal leg.

"What is this thing?" he asked softly, in awe of the strange accomplishments of the pirates. They were years ahead of most of the Archipelago. Adeline leaned closer to explain a few more things.

"This is the Ynahy-mevd, the thing that they built to transport prisoners, especially dangerous ones like us, directly to the arena. See that rope over there?" He did, in fact, see it. The woman that had opened the gate was now standing by it, one hand gripping the rough fibers tightly.

"The mevdgaaban, that's her over there," she whispered, pointing at the woman as best she could, "pulls on the rope to tell the people above that they need to start cranking up the Ynahy-mevd. It's basically a giant metal platform suspended on a strong pulley system, and that's connected to two giant metal winches, and it's all contained in a big stone chute. At the bottom is a pool of water, in case the chains holding us up break. Which they might. I don't know if they've done any maintenance lately. But don't worry, the water will cushion the landing, and at most we'll break a few bones," I said brightly.

"Thank you for that wonderful image. So, above us is the arena?" he asked, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. He pointed up as best he could, too, given that he was chained up, and Addie nodded.

"The Ynahy. It's where training is held for the younger kids to learn how to fight, but sometimes adults will go there to hone their skills. And it's where both initiation and naluhlemeydeuh-pyddmac take place."

"And that's where we're going? Sounds... pleasant," he replied casually. I smirked.

"Trust me, it's better when you're in the stands, not in the sands," I said, looking around at the guards. The mevdgaaban, a dark-haired woman with the heart tattoo of the House of Flames, pulled on rope and closed the metal gate on us. There was a harsh groaning like some ancient, massive beast waking up, and slowly the Ynahy-mevd began to rise.

_A few minutes later..._

Hiccup could see some light above his head if he leaned back far enough, and it was slowly growing in intensity. At the same time, there was a dull roar that grew louder and louder as they got closer and closer to the arena, and it dawned on him that it was the sound of many people cheering high above them. From the sound of it, there must have been at least a hundred people, if not more. Easily enough to man most of the ships he had seen earlier that week and attack whoever they wanted. Addie grabbed his hand suddenly and he jerked his head toward her.

"Hiccup, just in case I don't make it out, take care of Frostwave. Please," she whispered urgently. He nodded then had a strange sense of déjà vu. This was just like a few weeks ago, when he and Astrid had been about to face the Monstrous Nightmare in the arena. Only this time, their positions were reversed. This time, Addie was the one in greater danger than he was, seeing as she was about to turn her back on everything she had known for years. Addie smiled in thanks and turned her head to face the direction they would get off the Ynahy-mevd, an unreadable expression on her face. If he hadn't known any better, Hiccup would have said she was steeling herself for the terrible ordeal ahead of them. But Addie wasn't like that. She was a spontaneous girl who lived in the moment, rolling with the punches and countering a moment later.

Speaking of living in the moment, the Ynahy-mevd slowed down as the light above grew brighter until they were bathed in bright sunlight reflecting off of smooth white sand. It stopped with a portentous groaning and Addie looked up in concern.

"They really should oil this thing. And replace any rusty links, just in case it decides to snap one day," she criticized thoughtfully. The guards ignored her advice and pushed them out of the lift and into the Ynahy, where they would finally escape Blackstone Island.

Adeline's POV

For what it's worth, these people knew how to keep things clean. The sand that typically blanketed the ground was smooth and neat, not a speck of blood in sight. They had probably replaced it recently, for it to be this pristine, and switched out the old grains for some from one of the many beaches of Blackstone. Trust me. It happened more often than you'd think.

The sand was warm underfoot, having had several hours to absorb some of the sunlight radiating from the skylight high above. Our ticket out of here was still open, and a quick glance at the mechanism that controlled it showed me that we wouldn't have to worry about any problems from that sector. It was so broken down, I was amazed it still looked like it worked. The cranks, gears, and pulleys that operated as the system for the skylight's cover were pitted with rust and barely being held up by brackets and poles that had been there for a few centuries themselves. In other words, everything in the Ynahy was old, from the stands circling it to the beams holding up the heavy metal dome. The traditions it contained were just as old.

No one really knows why Al Fonz came up with such an inhumane form of initiation, or why he thought kidnapping locals was a good way to replenish the island's population, but right now that was what was going to get us out of here. This sort of thing required an audience for it to have its intended effect. And right in front of us, the yards diminishing with every step, was the keystone of the whole process. The eight heads were standing near a brazier full of red-hot coals, and eight metal rods with leather handles stuck out of it like needles in a pincushion. They would debate and deal for the right to have a new addition to their family, Hiccup would be initiated, and then he would probably be taken in for his piercings and tattoo. That... would suck, mostly because I don't think he would have looked good with gems in his ears and a star tattoo over his eye and I would never be able to get used to it. Not after seeing him like this, all sweet and understanding.

Hiccup nudged me nervously.

"Uh, Addie? What're those for?" he asked, indicating the metal rods. I didn't bother answering him. With any luck, he would never need to know.

The Captain stepped forward, and the whole island quieted down.

"**This is it, my people. Adeline has decided to kill that abomination and return to the fold,**" he projected, somehow managing to not deafen us and still be heard by the people farthest from him. I resisted the urge to make a face at him. Seriously? This sort of thing should be dealt with quickly and quietly. Otherwise we wouldn't be able to escape. And yet, that fault was what we were taking advantage of. Maybe I should stop thinking about how they could improve their security and focus on using the weaknesses to escape.

The crowd cheered even louder than before in response. I took the chance to watch some guards carting in a weapon rack from the other side of the arena, through the main door. The gleam of steel and iron, the sweet, soapy smell of freshly washed leather, the metallic tang of the oiled weapons all combined to make my blood rush in the anticipation of battle. The Captain stepped forward and pulled me away from the others. Frostwave let out a worried growl, but let him take me. She knew the plan, and attacking the leader of an entire island of pirates in front of his people was not a part of it, or even a good idea. I counted the number of triangles I saw on the guards around us and felt my stomach sink. At least fifteen of the guards that had accompanied us had purple triangles pointing down at their eyes, and probably twice that much in the Ynahy proper. Not good, but not as bad as I had thought from what Simon told me.

"**Take your weapon, **dnyedun**,**" Gale hissed, showing me the rack of weapons that had been wheeled closer during the Captain's little speech. I nodded and brushed past Hiccup, who knew exactly what to do. Yesterday, I had shown him the weakness in the shackles, and he was ready for my signal.

The choices offered me weren't the best. Let's just say, the House of Winds is not that good in the smithy, especially when compared to _some_ people. Right now, the cold gleam of swords, knives, daggers, axes, hammers, maces, and shields greeted my eyes, not what I wanted. No, what I _needed_.

I was about to give up hope when I saw it coiled up on its little hook. The spear-chain. It was basically a spear head on a long, thin chain designed to be thrown or hooked, and while most people wouldn't consider it a true weapon, most people have also never been hit by the head in the middle of mortal combat. When used correctly, the spear-chain can arch around, over, and under your allies and into your enemies. However, it is incredibly difficult to use because of the finesse involved. Or at least, difficult for these guys.

Luckily for me, I had spent most of my time in the arena practicing with this baby, and many long, grueling hours and calluses later, I could hit an apple at thirty paces and pull it back completely intact. Now, I don't mean to brag, but that is not easy. At best, I can do it three out of ten times, four if I'm really lucky. But out of all these guys, one of them is considered a master if they can bring back half of it at twenty paces. And right now, my skills were going to get us out of here.

"**Whenever you're ready, Adeline,**" the Captain said calmly, hope building up in his eyes. One of the guards, a usually nice girl called Vneaht from the House of Lights, and thus a relative of the Captain and Simon, undid my shackles. At the same time, the other guards readied their weapons in case I tried anything funny. If they only knew...

But before I could face off against Frostwave, Gale walked forward to stare me down like a snake with a frog.

"**You think you can beat us, right?**" he snarled under his breath, making sure I was the only one to hear him. I shrugged and returned his venomous glare with equal parts hatred and disgust.

"**Well, it's better than staying in that hole for the rest of my life,**" I replied casually. He snorted and glanced at Hiccup.

"**I can tell from a mile away. You actually like that Viking, don't you?**" he marveled at the fact that I had feelings for a fellow prisoner. I blushed and tried to hide it, but he saw it quite quickly.

"**Oh, you poor little girl. I'm going to enjoy it when you watch him marry someone else on the island from your cell.**" That did it.

"**Really? Well, that's gonna be kind of hard, Gale,**" I retorted, my temper getting the better of me. Without another word, and much to the shock of pretty much everyone there, except maybe Frostwave, I went over to Hiccup, pulled him down a little, and kissed his cheek. His face became very hot under my lips, and I pulled away quickly to glare at the stunned Gale, ignoring the jumbled nonsense emitting from the Viking teenager's mouth.

"**'Cause I'm gonna fight for him.**"

I would have gone on, but Gale walked over, clamped a hand over my mouth, and dragged me away from Hiccup.

"**Don't taint any more people with that traitorous mouth of yours,**" he growled, his wild black eyes glittering insanely. I nodded, seeing as I couldn't really talk, and he let go. My hand rose up with a mind of its own to rub the spot. Man, he had a strong grip. But unfortunately for him, I had the better wrists. Before completely leaving me to take his place beside the Captain, Gale turned his head a fraction and hissed, "**You bring shame to Chuf's name.**"

All the blood drained from my face. Did he just- How could he- Why would he bring something like that up? Hadn't he tormented me enough as a child? My head began to feel light, and I took a few deep breaths to steady myself. Fainting wouldn't solve anything.

There was the soft tread of booted feet on the sand, and Simon joined his father to whisper in his ear. The two of them conversed in low tones, never rising another octave, and with one grumpy nod from his father, Simon came over to me. I was still trying to catch my breath after the dig from Gale, and spoke hurriedly.

"**Hey, Addie? My father is giving us a few minutes to talk, and I just needed to tell you something,**" he mumbled, avoiding eye contact. I put a free hand to my hip.

"**Okay. Talk.**" He leaned in close and whispered in my ear, "**The seed of** **Lin purges much.**"

Realization came slowly to me, as always, but when it did, I grinned like a madman. Or, to be more precise, a madwoman. Simon saw this cheesy grin and smiled back just a tad, then walked away to join his father. I took my weapon from the rack – the spear-chain – and held it in my hands, searching for the right balance. It was hard to find.

"**Gale, a word. Tell Eteud that he really needs to work on his skills, because this thing sucks,**" I said, disappointed in his craftsmanship. Seriously, the links were uneven, the head didn't taper to a symmetrical point, and the whole thing was slightly off-balance. I was amazed it didn't fall to pieces in my hands.

He grunted in reply, mentally cataloging this advice. Despite his appearance, Gale was actually a smart guy, and when a blacksmith tells him to get his own family's smith in better shape, he listens.

But, oh well. Terrible or not, it would serve its purpose. My fingers finally fumbled into a balanced position on the chain, the long tail looped around my forearm loosely to make sure I wouldn't trip but I would still be able to get some reach out of it, and I took up my place in the center of the Ynahy. Frostwave was unwillingly dragged to stand before me, her feet scuffing the sand nervously. This was the first time I had seen her act so unsure in a long time. Not since I had first asked if I could ride her, three years and five months ago, to the day.

"**Now, begin!**" the Captain shouted.

* * *

This was it. The moment we had been waiting for, right within our reach. By tomorrow, Frostwave, Toothless, Hiccup, and I would be free from this nightmare of an island.

My feet spread apart and my knees bent just enough to make sure I could move quickly. Frostwave did the same and started growling unintelligibly, at least to me. I mean, I could write a journal entry on that whole subject.

* * *

_...After much thought, I have deduced that the Silver Horrors have two separate languages, one for communicating with their human bondmates, and another for other dragons..._

* * *

But I'm getting off topic. Again.

My fingers held the spearhead lightly, but firmly. Now was the moment when I would see if all that training had paid off.

I flung the spear-chain, letting the tail whip off of my arm easily and gain distance. A deep breath was sucked in with anticipation, and...

The shiny head went true to the mark, slicing through both her muzzle and her fetters. Adjusting her feet had actually helped with that, because it made a nice clean line to all three forms of bondage on her silvery body.

Moments afterwards, Hiccup twisted his right arm in and broke the chain off his shackles, then grabbed a knife from the rack and started cutting through the leather binding his best friend. I whirled around, ready to fight off more people, when I saw what Simon was talking about.

The guards were all doing the toddler dance for the bathroom, and several other people in the audience were rushing out to do their business before they couldn't hold it in any longer. I grinned widely. Good ol' Simon, using an old trick like that. After all, in large quantities, linseed has a powerful laxative effect. And judging from who was doing the dancing, I believe he slipped it in just before breakfast.

But there was one person in the way who hadn't eaten the tainted soup that wanted to kill me right now.

Gale.

And let's just say, if it weren't for one of Frostwave's species-specific powers, we might not have made it out.

"_Addie! Cover your ears!_" she roared, preparing to loose the beast inside. I nodded, pulled back, and clamped my hands over my ears. Hiccup saw this and imitated me, for no real reason other than the fact that I was doing it right now. When we were protected, and the guards were starting to return from their impromptu visits to the water closet, she screamed.

A word of advice. If you are human, never, ever, EVER let a Silver Horror scream while your ears are uncovered. You will end up with a powerful headache and nightmares for a week, at the minimum. Nature had blessed them with one more horrifying ability other than the whole ice breath deal, tail spear, three rows of teeth, and sharp claws. The scream of a Silver Horror, while harmless to dragons, is quite debilitating to members of our own species, and at close range can actually scare someone to death. Put simply, it is like the dead themselves are shouting out their pain for all to hear, resonating with the cries of our own troubled hearts. And if that sounds too poetic to you, I'm sorry, but that's the only way to describe it. Words cannot do it justice.

Even with our ears covered, it wasn't fun for me or Hiccup. I think at one point he flinched, when Frostwave made it a bit louder, and I couldn't blame him. There's a reason they're called Silver Horrors, and not Silver Kittens-and-Sunshine. Back in the old days of the dragon-pirate war, human victims reputedly had a look of sublime terror on their faces. That, and their silver scales, combine into what may be one of the scariest, fiercest, and sweetest species ever. Well, there's Toothless, too, so I guess he counts as well.

When her despairing cry ceased, we only had a few minutes to get on our freed dragons and escape through the skylight before they recovered and regrouped (so many re- words. I feel so mature), so we did the sensible thing. Hiccup got on Toothless, and I grabbed Frostwave's horns and held on tight with my legs. We took off as one, and just before we passed through the skylight I could see the faces of the people I was leaving behind.

Gale was furious, obviously, but there was something else, too. It bothered me, because for a moment there, I thought he seemed almost... pleased.

The Captain was more disappointed than angry, and he gave me one last defeated look before turning away.

And Simon seemed happy, but sad at the same time. I knew that feeling. He felt like he was being left behind.

'I'll come back for you,' I tried to send him the thought in my head. Unfortunately, I'm not telepathic, because otherwise the world might be a bit easier on me if I was. Or not. Actually, that might make things worse. Who knew how people would treat me if I could talk to them in their heads?

* * *

3rd Person POV: Hiccup

Bright sunshine greeted them as they escaped, and Hiccup took in a deep breath of the frigid, but fresh, air of the outside world. Odin's only eye, it felt good to be out of Blackstone. Speaking of which, why was it called that? He had seen the inside, and looking down could see gray, brown, tan, and red rocks, but no black.

"Hey, Addie? Why's it called Blackstone?" he called over the rush of the wind. She and Frostwave flew lower from their spot above them and she leaned down.

"Follow us," she replied sadly, gripping her dragon's horns with white knuckles. The silver-white dragon led the black dragon and its rider to a place that had been previously hidden by extremely tall, pitch black pines.

It was a large field of green-black grass, gently undulating in the breeze that managed to get past the ring of pines around it. Blackstone pines, he realized. Legendary for both their strength and their flammability. Different from other pines because of their distinctive black wood and dark green needles. And now he knew why. Spotting the field were several black rocks of different shapes and sizes, some overgrown by the strange grass while some looked like they had recently been deposited.

They landed in the center, near some of the largest of the rocks. The two dragons and two humans looked around sadly, and the pirate girl (well, ex-pirate girl) turned her head to look at the Viking boy.

"Do you know what this is, Hiccup?" Addie asked softly. He shook his head. The rocks seemed kind of... familiar, but he couldn't understand why.

"It's a graveyard... for Silver Horrors. This is where they go to die," she answered her own question breathlessly. Hiccup had no words. Suddenly, he knew why he recognized them. With every darting glance, he could see the similarities between the bones and Frostwave's structure, and in some parts he could actually see the whole skeleton laid out in the grass like a tunic left out to dry.

"It's also why some of the plants around here are so different from other places. The bones are worn into dust by time and the elements, and the plants absorb some of that dust and use it to make themselves stronger. If you took some seeds from that grass down there and planted it on another island, it would grow green, not black. A Blackstone pine would have brown wood, and it wouldn't be nearly as tough. All thanks to Frostwave's species," she said mournfully. Before he could reply, Addie jumped off of Frostwave and started searching for something underneath what must have been the skull of one of Frostwave's relatives.

"What is it, Addie? Did you lose something here?" he asked, dismounting and bending down to join her in the search. She didn't answer until her hands held a large cloth bundle.

"This. I couldn't leave Blackstone without it. Now let's go. They'll be looking for us soon," she replied, tucking it under her arm and getting back on her dragon. Hiccup did likewise, and together they went airborne again.

Looking down, he could see too many skeletons still in the open air, too many dead dragons for it to bode well for Frostwave. Hiccup reached up a hand and patted Addie's booted foot comfortingly.

"Don't worry, Addie. Frostwave isn't gonna be joining them any time soon. Not if we can help it," he said confidently.

Adeline's POV

Okay, why in Freya's name had Hiccup been treated like he was less than dirt as a kid? He was one of the nicest people I knew! Sure, he was kind of scrawny, but that doesn't mean he was a wimp. Hiccup had some real mental strength, to manage to survive all those treatments and not cry, to keep going after being tormented about his body, to put up with my terrible jokes and Frostwave's attitude. And for me, that sort of strength speaks louder than muscles.

But right now, that didn't really matter. We needed somewhere safe to go for now, until we were sure they wouldn't be following us. And both dragons seemed to understand that feeling, because Frostwave and Toothless flew away from that dreaded island. We landed on another piece of land some distance away to watch as smoke rose from the larger island north of us, the result of our escape. Slowly, the full extent of what this meant settled on my mind. When I realized I was finally free after ten long years, I let out an ecstatic shriek and wrapped my arms around Hiccup, dropping my precious bundle on the ground.

"We did it!" I shouted gleefully. "By the gods, we did it!" Hiccup returned the gesture just as happily and even managed to pick me up for a short time. Frostwave and Toothless let out a pair of pleased croons, making our embrace break awkwardly. My face flushed and I moved a few steps away, just like Hiccup did.

"And now we can go back to Berk," he added. My grin faltered slightly, and he gave me a concerned look.

"Addie? What's wrong?" Hiccup asked, putting a hand on my shoulder. I shrugged him off before the panic could set in and smiled painfully.

"It's nothing. Just a little worried about the future, is all," I said evasively. He didn't look fully convinced, but that's Hiccup for you. He notices more than he lets on. That's what happens when you're a social outcast for most of your life.

Hiccup looked to the south, toward Berk and the new life it held for me. But that wasn't happening anytime soon. Massive thunderheads were approaching from that direction, and a feeling of dread settled in the pit of my stomach. Maybe the gods were unhappy I had betrayed what had essentially become the only "family" I had, or maybe it was some god trying to keep us away from Berk for a bit longer. Either way, both of us knew better than to go flying into that storm, and so we set off across the island in search of shelter.

**Author's Notes: Translations, my most wonderful and supportive readers.**

**Ynahy – Arena**

**Ytubdaa – Adoptee**

**dnyedunuic, buecuh-cilgehk tnylubrema – traitorous, poison-sucking dracophile (again, another creative Blackstone insult)**

**tnykuh – dragon**

**Jyimd – Vault**

**Benydeyh – Piratian**

**Ynahy-mevd – Arena-lift**

**mevdgaaban – liftkeeper, the person in charge of the Ynahy-mevd**

**naluhlemeydeuh-pyddmac – reconciliation-battles**

**dnyedun – traitor**

**This is it. This is their story. It all begins here. They've finally escaped from Blackstone, and now they have to wait out a terrible storm before they can actually get to Berk. But that's when the real fun begins. Ohhhh, yes. I am writing a dangerous story. Keeping this much raw... awesomeness... contained? There will be consequences! But enough joking around. I've also decided to stop making the chapter titles one line. I'm thinking of reserving that for this small section only, to symbolize how limited Addie's life is, 'n stuff. Now the titles will be more descriptive and actually tell you what the heck is going to happen in the chapter. You're welcome. And come on, people, is it really that hard to remember? Your and You're. One is a possessive pronoun, the other is a contraction of You Are. Sorry. Just ranting about stupid mistakes I see when I read stuff on the site. I mean, it's almost as bad as there, their, and they're, or its and it's. Come on, people! If you're in high school or older, you should know the differences between these words! It's basic grammar! You learn this stuff in middle school! Or should have! Gah!**

**Wild Cat 214, out!**


	10. Chapter 9: The Arrival On Berk

"_You're second hand smoke, second hand smoke  
I breathe you in, but, honey, I don't know what you're doing to me  
Mon chéri, but the truth catches up with us eventually  
Try to say live, live and let live  
But I'm no good, good at lip service  
Except when they're yours, mi amor  
I'm coming for you and I'm making war"_

_-Fallout Boy, "Irresistible"_

**Author's Notes: Ah, yes. Sweet, sweet freedom. Now that Addie's had a taste of it, she might not want to give it up just yet. But does Hiccup have something to say about it? You bet! And does the rest of Berk have something to say about her staying? Of course! And does Addie have a fairly traumatic past that was only salvaged by Frostwave's appearance in her life? *rolls eyes* What do you think?**

**By the way, you're probably wondering why I've put in song lyrics. It's for the same reason that I've stopped making the chapter titles one word, to show how her life is better because she's free.**

**This is your last chance to guess what Benydeyh is based on for a while. And Addie'll give you the biggest hint with one word. Yep, just one. So if you've played a certain game and actually payed attention to one of the cutscenes, you're all set for the reward.**

**That's right, people, if you guess what Benydeyh really is, you'll get a prize! What is it, you may ask? A dedication in the next Author's Note AND READER COOKIES! Plus, I will favorite your account (if you have one) or simply accept requests for something you want me to do. By the way, I might make it available as a contest on my Frozen Flames forum, Frozen Flames Fans. Go check it out, if you want to.**

**Please READ! That doesn't mean SKIM or SCAN. It means LOOK CAREFULLY AT THE WORDS AND COMPREHEND THEM!**

**Disclaimer: Let's face it. I will never own HTTYD, not unless someone twists the fabric of reality for me. And if someone does have that power, then why are they using it on me? They could make it so that they own HTTYD.**

**Key: I'm putting this in to help differentiate between different modes of conversation.**

**Bold: Translated Benydeyh**

_Italic: Frostwave's translated lines (when from Addie's POV); human language (when Frostwave's POV); emphasis during normal speech_

_**Italic Bold:Translated Benydeyh (when Frostwave's POV)**_

Normal: normal Norse; emphasis during flashbacks or when Frostwave is speaking

* * *

Adeline's POV

Okay, that storm might be a bit of a problem. I picked up the bundle again and scanned the island we had landed on. It was a goodly sized one, not big enough for a village, but definitely large enough for an outpost. Frostwave bumped her head against me. When I turned to look at her, she was gazing at some point on the island.

"Frostwave. What do you see with your dragon eyes?" I asked. She huffed a cloud of mist into my face and returned to looking at that far off point.

"_There is a cave in the center of the island. If we are lucky, we may make it before the storm hits. But we must hurry. I can hear it coming closer,_" she replied, lifting her crimson gaze to the gathering dark clouds. I nodded and looked at Hiccup hopefully.

"Frostwave says there's a cave in the middle of the island. But we have to move fast or else we'll be caught out in that storm. Let's go!" I told him, running toward the general direction of where she had been looking. The footsteps of dragons and a human followed me in that mad dash to safety.

_A few minutes (and Addie nearly tripping over a root) later..._

We barely managed to make it into the shelter of a cave across from a dry ditch with a big scoop at the end, like a spoon, before the storm hit. And boy, did it hit hard. I was thankful we had found such a sweet spot before getting caught out in that downpour. And... there was another reason, but I'm not gonna spill just yet. Some secrets need to remain secret.

There was a pair of shallow dips in the sandy cave floor, just far enough inside that we wouldn't get wet, but near enough that we could see outside. Well, when lightning flashed, we could. The darkness summoned by the clouds made it look like nighttime out there. And that's when it hit me. This storm would mean certain doom for any ship caught out in it, both from the thunder and from the pirates that would strike under the cover of the wrathful sky. It was part of the MO of Blackstone pirates that they only attacked during storms, mainly to bring up the shadow of a doubt that the ship had merely sunk because of the weather, not because of human efforts. Frostwave reached back out into the torrential rain to pull a log in for us, but already it was drenched. There went our chances of having a fire.

Then Frostwave hit her tail against it, hard, and it snapped in half to reveal nice, dry insides. Thank Thor. Toothless blew some sort of purplish fire at it in one quick bolt and it lit, giving us some crackling warmth to shield us from the biting chill that came with a storm of this caliber. I sighed with relief, even though my shoulders had more tension than a ship's sail under high winds. I hated storms. Hated them almost as much as Frostwave hated being scratched under her chin. Which you should never do, if you value staying reasonably intact for the rest of your life.

With the fire going strong, the dragons curled up in their sandy nests, and me and Hiccup leaning back against them, there wasn't much else to do. A crack of thunder made me wince ever so slightly. I thought I had hidden it well, but he saw and asked me a question I really wasn't okay with answering right now.

"You okay? Is the storm getting to you?" he said kindly, waving a hand at the rain forming dark silver sheets just outside the mouth of the cave. I smiled weakly and shrugged.

"I'm fine. Just surprised, is all," I deadpanned. Silence followed, punctuated with random pops from the fire and the deep breathing of huge lungs (see: dragons in the cave). The steady beat of water against the ground reminded me of the one thing I had left of my parents, and I unwrapped the large bundle I had rescued from the dragon graveyard.

The oilcloth had kept it safe from the weather, protecting the small woven chest that contained a wad of thread and needles stuck in a piece of cloth for safekeeping, my special braider and some spools of thread, the two books bound in pale leather and stamped with different symbols (an "H" for my healer book, and a "D" for my notes on Frostwave), and a plain wooden box, among other things. My dnaycina-puq, kept hidden away from the current inhabitants of Blackstone among the remains of the previous inhabitants. It was almost poetic that I would hide my most precious memories among those of the dead.

I opened the last delicately, peeking inside to make sure it was okay. The years had been kind to it, because the remnants of my past life were intact. A scrap of paper with faded ink on it, a dragon toy that measured the length of my forearm (about 8.5 inches from nose to tail), and an old ring made of a pretty purple flower, now dried and crumbly, but still wearable if I was careful. I tenderly took out the dragon and held it in my hands, trying to remember the girl I used to be. The innocent girl who laughed without fear, the girl who enjoyed everything, the girl who had never known a dark period in her life, the girl I could never be again. She flashed, as fleeting as a half-remembered dream, and then that girl was gone.

"Did your mother make that?" Hiccup asked, breaking into my near-breathless reverie. I let out a long, slow stream of air and looked at the dragon toy in my hands, then shook my head.

"No. I kinda remember who did, but it was a long time ago. So much has happened between now and then that the memory is fuzzy," I replied wistfully. I wish I remembered who made it. All that came to mind was the blurry face of a woman, and a lot of pale green, and familiarly faint sounds. Really, that wasn't much to go on.

The silence settled on us again, like flies on the corpse of a yak, but this time it was a soothing sort of quiet. We sat like that, listening to the harmonious furor of the rain and fire, when Hiccup put a hand on my shoulder. My... left shoulder.

'Please, please don't let him feel it,' I silently begged of the Norn that determined my fate. She must have been in a good mood, because he didn't remark on it feeling off or anything like that, and my mind sighed in relief.

"Addie, are you sure you're okay with this? You just left behind your entire life to go with a strange boy you've only known for a week," he asked, a strange message in his voice. I shrugged in reply, dislodging his hand from my shoulder without him realizing that was my goal, and looked out at the pounding rain.

"Need I remind you that _you_ were the one who offered to take me back with you?" I shot back, never glancing at his face while I spoke.

"Fair point. You still haven't answered my question." A harshly mocking laugh escaped from my mouth, and I clapped a hand over it.

"Sorry. But it's a little late to be asking me that. Even if I wasn't okay, it wouldn't change anything. We've still escaped from a horde of bloodthirsty pirates that want us either dead or stuck in that cell for life. There's no turning back the sundial to make it all better." I paused, my eyes sinking to look at my belt buckle. Well, I say buckle, but it's really more of a decorative fastener. I don't actually need it to keep my belt on, but it's one of the few Blackstone traditions that isn't terrible, and it's become a part of me. Without it, I wouldn't be me. But seeing this reminded me of another tradition, decidedly less benevolent than the Ghufehk Neda, one that took place in the middle of a storm like this.

"No matter how much I wish I could go back and save them," I murmured quietly.

"Save who?"

My heart skipped a beat. How did Hiccup have such good hearing? Well, I needed some alone time, and there was no way in Hel that I was going out in that tempest. I couldn't think straight when he was awake and watching me so intently. And thanks to Trainer Tavahca of the House of Stones, I knew one self-defense move that would help get me that time.

"Cunno," I said before reaching over swiftly and pinching the base of his neck, while simultaneously praying my hardest that Toothless wouldn't hurt me.

Surprisingly enough, it worked. Toothless growled shortly, then stopped in confusion just after I had knocked Hiccup out. He then narrowed his eyes at me and growled out a question to Frostwave, who replied in the shared dragon language that I couldn't understand. The two dragons continued to converse, and eventually my Silver Horror had pacified Hiccup's Night Fury enough that I could think without fear of being the subject of a miffed dragon.

Frostwave's POV

While I did not know why Addie had made the Hiccup sleep, I recognized the strange power she had. At first, I merely thought it was a side effect of bonding that she could sometimes make me do something without my consent, but with the recent events I knew this was not so. My bondmate had a natural ability to command dragons, and she didn't even know it. But it explained so much.

When we had first met, Addie had a slightly different scent than other humans I had encountered or smelled. It wasn't just the Grass That Pleases Us that had been worked into her clothes. Her body had radiated with some other smell than the pleasant fragrance of dragon nip, some faint odor that got in my nostrils and never left. And it wasn't merely a smell. The sound of her voice had that identical permanent quality as well, a cadence that made me pay attention when she spoke to me or any other dragon.

Why would I bring this up right now? Because just before she made the Hiccup sleep, her apology had amplified this normal frequency and focused it on Toothless, making him not attack her. And the strange thing was that it was completely unintentional. I knew my bondmate, and I knew that she would never force a dragon into doing something unless it was a life-or-death situation. Not knowingly, at least. Addie had faced enough trouble being forced to learn another language, another culture, and another set of rules that she could never do the same to another creature, human or otherwise.

It made me curious. In the annals of dragon history, there had been a few scraps of legends about humans that had such power over dragons, though never with such strength as my bondmate. It was supposed to be the counterpart of the numerous blessings She Who Created Us With Her Breath had contended upon her favored children, my own kind, and was given to humans by her own bondmate, She Who Stands On the Side of Lighte. The trait must have been intended to preserve a peace between humans and dragons in this land, though with the news of a dragon attack on a human settlement where an entire family that possessed this power came the belief that any hope of this had been annihilated. And those sort of humans were known as Sirens by my own kind, for their voices called to us to obey them.

Being one of Those Who Welcome With Claws Sheathed made me swell with pride. We were the closest to our creator, and as such had been chosen to receive many wondrous and terrible skills, along with the responsibility of passing on the history of the dragons from generation to generation. Though this gave us some power over dragons, it was not nearly close to that exercised by Queens, Alphas, or Sirens. No, it merely garnered their respect and a semblance of control over those around us. As guardians of dragon history, we had a duty to protect our flight, from internal as well as external threats, so being a lorekeeper with a Siren for a bondmate made performing this duty somewhat difficult.

"Frostwave, why is your bondmate so silent? Is she troubled by bad fish?" Toothless growled out worriedly, looking soulfully at Addie. I glanced at her, then huffed a cloud of mist at his Night Fury nose.

"She is alright. Addie is merely thinking, as she is wont to do," I replied calmly. But inside, I was troubled. Was she feeling guilt for making the Hiccup sleep? For leaving the people that had raised her? For trying to hide the truth from everyone but me? I would not know until I asked her.

Before I could, though, Addie curled up against my side, cuddling the dragon toy with the hint of a friendly scent on it.

"_Goodnight, Frostwave. Goodnight, Toothless. Goodnight, Hiccup,_" she said quietly before trying to sleep. I wrapped my tail around her and bowed my head toward Toothless.

"Goodnight, Toothless. May fish be abundant in your dreams," I told him peacefully.

"And may the skies of your dreams be clear and calm," he replied smoothly before curling up near the Hiccup. My head sank to its usual spot on Addie's side. Sleep was swift in coming, drawn in by the rhythm of the rain outside and trapped by the heat of the cave.

_The next day..._

When I woke up, it was dawn. We had slept through the rest of the day and all of the night, and now watery sunlight was streaming into our shelter, alighting on Addie's calm face like the delicate feet of faeries and waking her up gradually.

"_Mmm... Frostwave?_" she mumbled, her head a riotous bird's-nest of hair. I chuckled and blew a cloud of mist into her face to wake her up the rest of the way.

"_Stop it,_" she grumbled sleepily, lazily waving her hand at my head before trying to fall asleep again.

"Wake up, Addie. The storm has ended. We will be leaving soon," I crooned. That got her up. Addie sat up and looked outside of the cave, then nearly flew out of her nest and out to see the new day.

Adeline's POV

The ditch outside our cave was now a babbling brook made of the leftover water from yesterday's storm. The air was nippy, but smelled clean after spending several hours in a smoky cave. The strange bowl in the ground that had made the ditch look like a spoon was now a small spring, just big enough for a person and a dragon to get clean.

"Frostwave! Get out here and help me take a bath," I ordered, my fingers working on getting the ends of my belt out of my buckle. The light footsteps of my Silver Horror told me that she had followed me out.

"_Why do you want to take a bath? It is cold out,_" she replied bemusedly. I sighed, pulled up my sleeve, and held out my arm. It was not as clean as I would have liked it to be, but hey, at least I could control when I washed it now.

"If I'm going to Berk, I want to be clean. Today would normally be bath day anyways, remember?" I told her, my teeth chattering a little. I wasn't used to such cold weather. Was Berk going to be like this?

"_Yes, and normally you would wash in the hot baths, and then I would groom you,_" Frostwave pointed out. "_This water is not hot._"

"And that's where you come in. Frostwave, get in that pool and heat it up. You can do that much, right?" I teased, pointing at the swollen pool a few feet away. She narrowed her eyes, then sighed.

"_Fine. I will make the water hot. But _I_ will be the one washing you, got it?_" I held up my hands in surrender and nodded.

"Sure thing, girl. Whatever floats your boat."

_A few minutes later, enough to make the rainwater nice and warm..._

I was in Valhalla. There was no other way to describe it.

Frostwave had curled her body up in the pool, leaving part of her side out of the water so I had somewhere to sit, and once I had given her enough time, the water had started to steam lightly. When I heard her say the water was ready, I had pulled the ends of my belt out of my buckle, taken off my boots, blouse, and pants, and willingly climbed into the smaller circle of warm water inside her coils. She had given me time to soak and let out some of the tension in my body before cleaning me off.

I don't really know why she likes grooming me so much. Maybe it's because she also likes keeping herself clean, and when she has nothing left to lick clean, she turns to me. Frostwave also has this weird thing about making things neat. When I had been sorting out herbs I had gathered during a flight near Blackstone, she had made all of my careless heaps of plants into carefully ordered piles, with all the bad or rotten plants set off in another pile to the side.

Anyways, her narrow black tongue slipped out and started licking all the grime off of me. While I knew there were plenty of dragons with good senses of taste, Silver Horrors were not one of them. They have absolutely zero taste. No, really, she even told me so. Silver Horrors cannot taste anything, not even their favorite food. I guess that's part of the reason why she'll eat eels, even though she doesn't like them. It's more a matter of how they smell and sound (trust me, it's as weird as it seems).

On a side note, they also have no tact.

"_Addie, you are filthy. You're lucky you have me to groom you,_" she grumbled after a brief mouth rinse. I folded my arms across my chest and flicked a bit of water at her nose.

"Gee, I wonder why? Maybe it's because I haven't taken a bath in a month," I countered sarcastically. Frostwave chuckled, like sandpaper on wood, and went back to delicately washing my back.

Frostwave's POV

There was a reason why I liked having Addie as a bondmate. It wasn't just that it felt right to be bonded to her, or that she was willing to put up with my grooming attempts. She didn't act like we were two different species. To her, we were family, no matter how different we looked or how damaged we were. Her tolerance made me feel cooler inside (**A.N. Silver Horrors go cooler instead of warmer. It's their version of feeling warm and fuzzy**), though I knew where it had come from. I could see the marks of this experience on her back.

Remembering _that man_ made me think of what Addie had done yesterday, about her actions after _that man_ had taunted her over the Hiccup's fate and what it meant for her.

"So, what was that with you and Hiccup? I thought the people of Blackstone only kissed when they had the intention of performing the Zue-"

"_Stop right there, Frostwave. It was very spur of the moment, and I'm not sure how Hiccup feels about me yet,_" Addie interrupted, putting her hand on my nose lightly. I snorted out a cloud of mist toward her now clean, pink hand.

"You are still so dense, Addie. But that is why I love you," I crooned affectionately, running my tongue through her hair and gently working out the knots with the tip of my tongue. She let out a little gasp of pain as I slowly undid one particularly stubborn tangle, and I hummed apologetically.

"Sorry."

"_No, it's okay. Make me decent, Frostwave. Then help me find some soapwort so I can wash my clothes. They've spent a bit too much time on me,_" she said bluntly, holding out a hand toward the white blouse and black pants. Her buckle gleamed on top of them, the thick, puffy metal and its etchings being one of the things Addie would never be able to leave behind. Not until the day she died.

3rd Person POV: Hiccup

"Ugh... my head," Hiccup groaned as he woke up. Whatever technique Addie had used on him, it had really knocked him out, not to mention left him with a headache like someone driving a wooden stake into his skull. He could see the dawn sunlight outside growing stronger, from its normal deep gold to a brighter yellow-white, then to simply white, and looked at Toothless. The Night Fury had woken up as well, though with considerably fewer head pains than his human rider, and was now looking at him hopefully.

"Hey, bud. You want breakfast, right?" he said warmly, stretching out his joints and listening to them pop in the chill air. The fire had died sometime during the night, but they didn't need it anymore, and so left the smoky ashes behind in their pile with the last few dying embers that had held on to the end.

That morning was very clear and bright thanks to the storm washing out the air, and he breathed the icy air in deeply. This was more like it. No more cramped, humid tunnels for him. Hiccup was sticking to tunnels that weren't overly hot and damp, like Blackstone's twisted paths deeper into the island. He had heard of springs that came out of the ground already hot, so maybe the pirates had managed to harness that for their own use. Even so, would it kill them to let some fresh air through the place every so often?

Toothless butted his head against Hiccup's back and looked out longingly toward the south.

"Don't worry, bud. We'll be back home soon," he reassured the dragon, patting him on the head to make his point. The Night Fury grumbled halfheartedly, but didn't try to push his luck. Soon they would all be treated to some delicious food courtesy of Berk, and Addie could start to settle into her new life on Berk. Hopefully, his dad wouldn't object too much to her staying. He had accepted the dragons, so maybe Stoick would do the same for an ex-pirate?

A stick broke behind them, and he whirled around. It was Addie and Frostwave, each slightly wet.

"What happened to you two? Cloudburst?" he joked, pointing at the sky. Addie rolled her eyes and spun around.

"Actually, no. We took a bath, and I washed my clothes. See?"

Hiccup could, in fact, see that she was cleaner. Her blouse actually looked white now, her black pants were spotless, her hair was damp, but no longer tangled and greasy, and her boots were good as new. Even the gems in her ears seemed to sparkle more than before, the little squares tilted a little onto one point to form a diamond, and her eyes had brightened as well. The faint scent of something lathery drifted toward him, more proof that she had washed herself and her clothes.

But the dim, murky light of Blackstone hadn't done her justice. After a bath, her long brown hair glowed warmly in its loose braid, and her eyes had a life to them that couldn't be seen in the pirate island's dismal illumination. Her face wasn't as grim or depressed as before, and now she seemed to be smiling with every part of her body. Even her clothes, which did seem a bit small for her, accented the animal grace with which she moved, that every member of Blackstone's society had moved with, he realized. A result of their training, and perhaps part of the reason they were so feared. But on Addie, it complimented her slim body, reflecting the bond between her and Frostwave.

Addie cleared her throat, a slight pink blush rising to her face, and Hiccup realized he had been staring at her for far longer than he should have.

"Oh, uh, sorry. But yes, I can tell that you're cleaner than before. Can I ask you why you decided to wash up?" he asked, gesturing to all of her. She sighed and followed Toothless's longing gaze south.

"I'd like to make a favorable first impression on Berk, and being a filthy rag of a person is not the first step to that. Besides, today is bath day," Addie explained pragmatically, as if this was a natural response to his question.

"Oookay, then. Can I ask you something else?"

"What?" Hiccup cleared his throat and turned a faint shade of pink.

"What was that yesterday? You said something to Gale and then you ki-"

"Shall we go?" she interrupted, turning a brighter pink and jerking her thumb toward her new life. Without waiting for an answer, Addie got on Frostwave and flew off. Hiccup sighed, only to Toothless to give him a smug look.

"What're you looking at?" he snapped warmly. The Night Fury hummed cheekily in reply, and together the two of them followed Addie and Frostwave.

_A few hours later..._

3rd Person POV: Stoick

Stoick watched the skies, nearly torn apart with concern. It had been a week since Hiccup and Toothless had gone missing. One long week of condolences, worried visits from his friends, and the feeling that he had lost the rest of his family. First his wife, and now his son? Whatever he had done to offend the gods this much, he was sorry.

"Any sign of them?" he asked Gobber, who had just hobbled up the hill to join him in his vigil. The other man shook his head, frowning sadly.

"Not even a scale," came the grim reply. The chief of Berk sighed and returned his gaze to the blue sky. If only he could have warned Hiccup about the Blackstone pirates, and how the patrols had mentioned seeing more than usual recently. Maybe he would have been more careful and not gone missing, instead of being captured. Bucket and Mulch had seen him go down and be taken by one of the damned lydlr-crebc of the pirates, but by the time they got to the site, the ship was long gone. Since then, no one had seen hide nor hair of boy and dragon, and he was beginning to give up hope.

"Face it, Stoick. By now, the Blackstone pirates have either killed him or initiated him," Spitelout's voice said from behind him, near the steps to the Great Hall. Stoick sighed and slowly spun around to face him. The head of the Jorgenson clan was eyeing him; his son, Snotlout, was conspicuously missing from his side. Hiccup's cousin was probably busy helping the Twins cause mayhem on that Monstrous Nightmare of his, or privately mourning his missing cousin. The former was the most likely of the two.

"No. We send out another ship. We haven't checked all the islands to the north yet. One of them is bound to be Blackstone. When we find it, we'll strike and get Hiccup back."

"There's no guarantee that it'll work, Stoick. We don't even know if they're still alive," Gobber reminded him.

"Don't you think I know that? But we can't rest. I won't lose Hiccup... like I lost Valka," he replied bitterly. The two men shared a knowing look, then Spitelout reached out a hand to pat his shoulder. His comforting gesture halted halfway there with excited cheers coming up from the village. Fishlegs ran up to them, out of breath from both the news he had to share and from the sprint to share the info.

"Sir, you'll never believe it! Hiccup's come back!" he squealed happily. They stood there in shock, and slowly their lines of vision rose to regard the sky.

There. Stoick could see a black speck getting larger with every passing moment, and a silver blur next to it. He only knew of one black dragon in the archipelago.

"Hiccup!"

Adeline's POV

I had been able to see Berk several minutes before we arrived in the village, and I had to admit, it seemed nice. All the houses were out in the open, scattered across the hilly island like a child's toy blocks, and they were a lot larger than the healers' quarters on Blackstone. Smaller dots ran around excitedly among the toy houses; the villagers must have seen us and were preparing to welcome Hiccup and I. Well, probably just Hiccup. They'd be getting a bonus in me.

"There it is, Addie. Berk. Twelve days north of Hopeless and a few degrees south of Freezing to Death. It's located solidly on the Meridian of Misery," he deadpanned. I grinned uneasily at that. Was that how bad it had been for Hiccup? I mean, sure, there was actually a town called Hopeless a bit less than two weeks southwest of here, but seriously? Knowing that there were people out there that had made Hiccup's life miserable made me want to fight and fight and fight until I couldn't fight anymore, and then keep fighting just to stop them. I guess living with a dragon for three years with limited human contact had its effects on a person's mind. I had picked up on Frostwave's protectiveness, and it had slowly become a part of myself. Right now, that tiny dragon part was shrieking at me, telling me to shield Hiccup from more hurtful words like that, even though the larger human part was shouting back that he didn't have to worry about them anymore. Besides, Hiccup didn't need some outsider ex-pirate girl to fight his battles.

He had Toothless for that.

* * *

We landed in a plaza near the center of the village, a crowd of joyful and curious Vikings around us. One man in particular came forward, and the people in his way stepped out respectfully. I blinked in surprise at his size. Hoo boy. I had never seen a man that big before, mostly because the men of Blackstone were usually a lot slimmer, like the jungle cats Trader Johann had told me stories about. His beard was just as large, a huge expanse of braided red hair that covered most of his chest, and his arms were beefy. Whoever this guy was, I would not want to tackle him. I probably wouldn't even be able to budge him if I tried.

Hiccup dismounted first, only to be swept up in the arms of the man. The look on his face was priceless: surprise mixed with joy, and a smidgen of embarrassment for good measure.

"Thank the gods you're all right, Hiccup," the man said. I got off Frostwave warily, the spear-chain ready to defend myself against a horde of angry Vikings, only to be met with the fierce glare of the man holding Hiccup. He let go of the boy and turned to me.

"And who's this?" he boomed suspiciously, glancing at him for clarification. Hiccup groaned quietly and started to introduce us.

"Uh, Dad, this is Addie. She helped me get out of there. Addie, this is... my dad, Stoick the Vast," he said awkwardly. I nodded. It wasn't hard to see how he got his name.

"Nice to meet you, Stoick, sir. I'm Adeline the Agile, child of the House of Lights," I told him, bowing elaborately. The entire village had the same reaction I had expected.

Enough weapons were lowered to my throat to furnish the entire armory of Blackstone, and then some. Hiccup's reaction this time was even more entertaining, as was his father's.

"House of Lights?! As in, the House of Lights... of Blackstone Island?" he asked. I shrugged.

"Well, formerly. I left. Didn't really like some of the laws, like how I had to kill my dragon to rejoin the village," I explained casually. Out of the corner of my eye I saw something red and shiny, and twisted around a little. It was a cart full of ripe apples, left unattended by the owner so he or she could welcome Hiccup back. Oh, they looked so good, so ripe and juicy and delicious and- DAMN IT! I just needed something to eat!

Quickly, I estimated the distance. It was about fifteen paces, give or take a couple of steps, easily within reach of my skills. I threw the spear-chain, narrowly missing a bald man with a fine, bushy blond mustache, and piercing my target.

THWOCK!

With a flick of my wrist and just a flash, the apple was in my hand, some of the juice leaking out through the hole in the skin and down my arm. I took one big bite and nearly moaned with rapture. It tasted _so good_, and I quickly swallowed that chunk of flesh and ate more ecstatically.

That is, until a man came up quickly and clapped my hands in some wooden shackles, making me drop my half-eaten apple. His mustache was really, really long and unevenly braided, he had a hook for a hand, a wooden right leg, and a metal tooth in his jaw, but that didn't stop him from restricting my movements and taking my spear-chain.

"Put her in the prison!" Stoick commanded, pointing toward the dark building a short distance away. I sighed with disgust.

"Seriously? Another cell? And I had just gotten out of the last one!" I exclaimed loudly, glancing at Hiccup. He shot his father an irritated look, but I could tell he couldn't do anything right now. Frostwave started snarling at the man who had cuffed me, and I turned to face her.

"**Stop it. We just need to sort out this misunderstanding, okay, Frostwave?**" I scolded her. Her eyes lowered, then lifted to meet mine again.

"_Fine. But if they hurt you, I will not hesitate to free you and leave this place. They all smell of dragon death, though it is several weeks old,_" she growled grudgingly. I nodded and managed to lightly punch her shoulder.

"Hey, don't be such a worrywart. Everything will be fine," I told her brightly. Naturally, this was just me putting on a brave front. Making Frostwave worry is not a good idea, mainly because it puts her on edge, and she starts lashing out, and then no one's happy. But she wasn't the only intended audience of this statement. I shot Hiccup a confident look before they took me away.

3rd Person POV: Hiccup

Hiccup angrily watched Addie be taken away to the prison. It wasn't her fault she had been raised among pirates. She shouldn't be treated like this. Before he could talk to his father and get her out, Stoick picked him up and dragged him away to the Great Hall, just like two weeks ago. When the door had slammed shut, he began the assault.

"You brought one of _them_ back to Berk?" he roared, and Hiccup winced.

"Dad, I can explain. Addie's a good person! She's not like the other pirates," he said, trying to make his case. Stoick shook his head in disappointment.

"Not like the other pirates? She's got the mark, the earrings, the clothes, the buckle! How is she not like the other pirates?" he replied, gesticulating wildly with his hands. Hiccup put a hand to his face and looked at his dad through his fingers.

"Addie helped me out when I was going to die! Without her, I wouldn't be here!" His father paled and grabbed his shoulders.

"What? What happened?" Hiccup looked down at his side, where the cut had healed over. It had been two days since Addie had proclaimed him free of all poison, but every now and then it would twinge. Phantom pains, like those of his leg sometimes, striking when he least expected it.

"There was an incident involving one of the heads of the island, a guy called Gale of the House of Winds. He cut me, although I'm pretty sure he wasn't supposed to do that, and there was poison on his knife. If Addie hadn't given me the antidote, I would have died, Dad," he explained quietly, pressing a hand to the spot. Stoick was silent as he absorbed this, then let go of his son to turn away. There was a pause as the chief came to his decision, a few apprehensive moments that made Hiccup sweat with worry.

"Okay. We'll put her on probation, but Hiccup? She's your responsibility. And... Adeline will stay in her cell at night. Just... show her around, or something. Introduce her to your friends," Stoick conceded gruffly, never facing his son while he spoke. Hiccup smiled.

"Sure thing, Dad. I won't let you down," he said confidently before running back outside. Stoick watched him go, a small smile on his face. His son had grown up, and seemed to be stronger for his experience in Blackstone. Maybe this Adeline wasn't all that bad. That didn't mean he was automatically going to trust her, simply because Hiccup thought she was good. People he loved had been known to have poor judgment regarding enemies...

Adeline's POV

Berk's prison isn't the best, but there is one thing going for it. There are benches in each cell for the inhabitants to actually lie down on something other than the floor.

When I had been pulled away by the man and dropped off in my cell, Frostwave had learned that sometimes being twice the size of a person didn't help when your bondmate was locked into a cell meant for humans only, and so she was forced to wait outside. I could hear her growl softly at anyone who got too close, though I knew it was just for show. I wasn't the only one who put on a front in this partnership.

"Addie, are you okay?" I heard Hiccup call from just outside the cell. I got up from my bench and hurried over to the door. You know, sometimes I think the Blackstone guards are smarter than most, mainly because they make sure the locks can't be picked easily. This door was almost too simple. It would have been beneath me to pick the lock and bust out. Right now, anyways.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit ticked off, is all. What are you doing here?" I asked him, smiling as he unlocked the door and took off my shackles. Honestly, I was treated better on Blackstone. At least their cuffs were made of leather and didn't leave splinters in my wrists.

"My dad says you're on probation, and that you're my responsibility," Hiccup informed me as we left the dark prison with Frostwave and Toothless accompanying us. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Is that so? Who's he to have such power?"

"He's... my dad is the chief," he admitted resignedly.

3rd Person POV: Hiccup

Addie stopped dead in her tracks, her mouth forming a small "o" and her eyes wider than a Gronckle's mouth.

"Wha- How- WHAT?!" she yelled, grabbing the front of his tunic and giving him an accusing glare. Hiccup tried to find the words, but he was just as confused as Addie. Her reaction was the most surprising.

"Your dad... is the chief? You mean I- oh, kutc ryja sanlo!" she swore, letting go and backing away with her hands to her face.

"Addie?" he asked concernedly. What had happened to her previous composure? Was finding out that he was the chief's son so shocking that it made her lose control? She seemed to regain her usual confident exterior after a few deep breaths, and lowered her hands to look at him.

"Huh? Oh, um, it's nothing, Hiccup," she said distractedly. Addie shook her head rapidly and smiled at him.

"Well, let's go! Show me around, Hiccup," she commanded, holding her arms wide to indicate the entire village. Hiccup grinned at her and started the tour.

Adeline's POV

_One hour later..._

After the tour, and during a discussion about dragon habits (like the rather strange one of regurgitating their meals), we came upon a group of teens sitting by a catapult. The five teens looked up with interest and surprise at the sight of me and Hiccup.

"Hiccup? You're back!" a blonde girl said happily, standing up and hugging him tightly. I did my best to hide my disappointment. Oh. So this was the girl Hiccup was talking about. She looked... nice. There was this intimidating air to her, kind of like Kiynt back on Blackstone. I guess she was my competition for Hiccup. The girl let go and we all sat down, myself on the edge of this little circle.

"Who cares about him? How about her? Where'd she come from?" a beefy boy with black hair and a helmet with large curling horns asked, leaning forward over one leg. I looked at Hiccup for guidance. Were these his friends? He saw my cry for help and put a hand on my shoulder. My... left shoulder. Again.

"Snotlout, this is Addie. Addie, that's Snotlout, Fishlegs, the twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, and Astrid," he introduced the five of them. I dipped my head to each of them briefly. So the blonde girl was Astrid, huh? And the rest had... _interesting_ names. Compared to them, Hiccup's was completely normal.

"Snotlout Jorgenson, at your service," he said, flexing his arms. I grimaced slightly.

Maybe it was just me, but I preferred guys that weren't walking fortresses. I guess it was a side effect of growing up surrounded by guys with the bodies of the jungle cats Johann had told me stories about, all lithe and quiet – but lethal – strength. They had become my standard of beauty, and as far as I was concerned, that was good enough. I did not need a guy that could lift two yaks on his shoulder and pull a cart full of rocks. All I wanted was someone fast enough and flexible enough to give me a fair fight. Was that too much to ask?

Right now, Hiccup was the closest to that I would find anywhere in the archipelago, at least, that also liked dragons and wouldn't try to kill me any time soon.

"Uh, charmed," I replied, slowly inching more toward Hiccup and less toward, um, Snotlout.

Okay, who in their right mind names their kid "Snotlout"?

Frostwave chose that moment to finally pop up over the edge of the catapult platform and see my new friends.

"_Addie, who are these people? They smell of dragons,_" she growled curiously, sniffing deeply. I shrugged.

"**They're Hiccup's friends, Frostwave. Please don't kill them. I kind of like knowing more than two people who don't want to kill me or you,**" I replied dryly. She huffed a cloud of mist into my face and jumped up the rest of the way, coming to sit behind me, Hiccup, and Astrid. One, um, large boy, Fishlegs, looked at her with awe.

"Is that a Silver Horror?" he asked, amazed. I smirked. Finally. Here was something I could actually talk about.

"Oh, yes. This is Frostwave, my dragon. Or, as she prefers, I'm her rider-slash-bondmate. Don't ask. It's complicated," I said, holding up a hand to silence the question I knew was coming. He bounced in his seat with excitement.

"I can't believe it! They really do exist! But wait. If Frostwave's a Silver Horror... taking into account what you were speaking just now..." he mumbled, counting something out on his fingers.

"You must be from Blackstone Island!" Fishlegs finally deduced. I hung my head and sighed.

"Yeah. And let me tell you right now, most of the rumors are true," I said incredibly seriously. My efforts were rewarded with shocked and horrified expressions, with the twins giving me wide grins.

"So the story that they eat dragon brains for dinner is true? And that they have hearts as cold and black as the rocks the island is named after? And that taking on a Blackstone pirate is as good as a death sentence?" Tuffnut asked, his voice growing more intense with every question. I just gave him a blank stare for a few seconds.

"...What? Are those really the rumors? Jeez, what is it with people and blowing things out of proportion?" I groaned, putting a hand to my head and leaning back against Frostwave's warm side.

"_Humans frequently embellish stories and legends. It keeps them interesting, which makes them be remembered,_" Frostwave said helpfully. I rolled my eyes.

"Nobody asked you, Frostwave," I replied sarcastically. She blew some ice at my bangs. I brushed it out mechanically, and before I could be asked about how I could understand exactly what she had said, I looked at all of them.

"So, Frostwave here says you guys smell like dragons. Mind if I see them?" I asked, cutting off Fishleg's question. They all shared a look and nodded.

"Of course, we'll start off with mine," Snotlout said arrogantly. I rolled my eyes in response. Now I understood why Hiccup hadn't mentioned his friends before now.

Together, all of us set off to wherever they kept their dragons.

_Several hours (and a few buckets of water) later..._

3rd Person POV: Hiccup

Well, Addie had been quite happy to learn about all the other dragons. Her admiration of all of the species made Hiccup feel good, and her joy at discovering there was a Book of Dragons was amusing. Though the brief incident involving Frostwave, a couple of sheep, and one poor yak had also been fun to watch, even if it wasn't fun to fix. Everything had turned out better than he expected. Right now, she was flipping through the old pages, completely absorbed in the main source of knowledge on dragons of the Barbaric Archipelago, and he was sketching out the image of Addie and Frostwave reading the book together. They had gone up to his house once it was clear that the other teens had chores to do before they could hang out some more, and now they were waiting for Gobber and Stoick to return from their work in the village.

"Hey, Hiccup, can you tell me what this says?" Addie called from her comfy dragon heap. Hiccup set down his pencil, his paper, and stood up and walked over to see what page it was. It showed an unfriendly-looking dragon covered with spines, with a large round mouth filled with teeth.

"'Whispering Death'. That's what it says," he told her. She nodded slowly and turned the page to point at another name.

"And this?"

"Timberjack."

Okay, that was weird, but not overly important.

Flip.

"This one?"

"Skrill."

Why did she keep asking him what they said?

Flip flip flip.

"How about this?"

"Snaptrapper."

By now, Hiccup was starting to get suspicious.

Flip flip.

"And... this?"

"Boneknapper. Addie, why are you asking me what they say? Can't you read them?" he snapped, a bit irked at her attitude. She gave him a sheepish grin and flushed a tiny bit.

"Um... no." Hiccup sighed, then gave her an incredulous look.

"Then what have you been doing this whole time?" Addie shrugged and pointed at the pictures.

"I can't read, but I can see. Some of the artwork in here is really fun to look at," she said defensively, closing the book with a soft thud.

"And I was hoping you wouldn't realize I couldn't read," she added under her breath. But Hiccup heard it. He hears a lot more than others think.

"Why can't you read? You can read Benydeyh, right?" At this, Addie held up a hand to give her some time to speak.

"Yes, but that's because there was actually a reason to learn how. I needed some way to write down and read recipes and labels, and for ten years that's all I really needed. Besides, with all my training in the forge, healing, gardening, and fighting, it's a miracle I had the time to learn _one_ language," she said, like an adult trying to explain something to a mulish child.

He did have to admit that she had a point. And there were few people on Berk that willingly read, like Fishlegs and himself, so her not knowing wasn't that big a deal. Still, looking through the Book of Dragons then claiming that you couldn't read was just a bit much.

"Okay, how about I start teaching you how to read it? Then you're going to teach me how to read Benydeyh, okay?" he proposed, holding out his hand. Addie looked at it cautiously, then took it and gave it one hearty shake.

"Deal. You go first. Show me what each thing is," she said imperiously, pointing at the words below a picture of a Zippleback. Hiccup rolled his eyes, but began the lesson, teaching Addie how to read and write like a true Viking (okay, like a true educated Viking).

_One hour later..._

Stoick and Gobber walked in to see the two of them bent over a piece of paper while Addie laboriously wrote down the simple sentence Hiccup had given her: _My name is Adeline_.

"What's this? Hiccup, didn't I say she had to be in her cell at night?" Stoick asked pointedly. Addie finished scratching out the last of the runes and turned her head.

"_She_ has ears, thank you very much. Besides, Hiccup's teaching me how to write. That's hard to do when you're in a dark cell and have nothing to practice with," she answered, showing him the piece of paper. He took it, and had to stifle a chuckle. The paper read, _Mai naym ar Adeline_, with a few smears where the pieces of burnt stick had been rubbed by her hands.

"Is that so? Well, time to go. You can teach her more tomorrow, Hiccup," he said sternly, looking intently at Hiccup.

"Hold on, Stoick. The poor lass needs something to eat before she gets locked up. Look at her! She's all skin and bones! Wouldn't last a night without something hot in her belly," the other man said.

"Gobber's right, Dad. Addie should eat dinner before she goes back to her cell. It's only fair," Hiccup agreed. She smiled winningly at the chief.

"Please?"

"Don't worry, Stoick. I'll escort her back and make sure she actually gets there," the guy called Gobber promised, putting his hand on Stoick's shoulder for good measure. He sighed deeply and put a hand to his forehead.

"Oh, fine. But no funny business!" he ordered, pointing a meaty finger at her. Addie's answer was a cheeky grin.

"Sir, yes, sir!"

Adeline's POV

_Once Gobber has made dinner..._

We sat down at the large wooden table, Hiccup at one end, Stoick at the other, with me and Gobber between them and facing each other. He had made some sort of yak stew with actual vegetables and milk – carrot and cabbage pieces – and when Stoick had taken a spoonful I gratefully dug in. It was nice to eat a hot meal that wasn't just the leftovers of the island's community meal – like I had been doing for the past three years – especially in a well-lit room with people that didn't want to kill me. Yet.

"So, uh, Adeline, what did you do on Blackstone? And what in Thor's name is this contraption?" Gobber asked, trying to break the ice by holding up the spear-chain. I shrugged and took another sip before answering.

"Well, because of the specific training I chose at my Beanlehk Neda, I was a blacksmith and healer for the island. I spent four years learning the tricks of the trades, and when I was twelve, I went through my Syngehk Neda and got this tattoo. The color shows which jobs I took. It's supposed to be a mixture of blue, for blacksmith, and white, for healer," I explained casually, showing them the star above my eye.

"Why a star? Isn't that supposed to signify the best?" Gobber replied, waving his hook at me. I shook my head.

"Not on Blackstone. It's to show that I'm an Ytubdaa, an Adoptee, and the reason is that 'it symbolizes that an Ytubdaa is not of this world,'" I replied, adding emphasis to the quote of Trainer Recduno, teacher of Blackstone's history.

"I see. And what about this? I've never seen anything of the sort before, or seen it used like that." He handed the weapon I had "liberated" from the clutches of Blackstone back to me, and I held it up appraisingly.

"It's a spear-chain, a weapon developed only on Blackstone for the people that don't like getting up close and personal with their opponents, or that need to hit something from far away. You throw it like a knife, and then you pull it back with the chain. If the thing you hit is light enough, you'll bring it back as well. If it's a person, then you leave behind a deep wound, and you have to pull a bit harder to get it out of them. Of course, this is not a good specimen. The guy that made it was an idiot. He didn't even make the head right!" I complained, showing them the offending part. Gobber took back the head and examined it closely.

"She's right. The head's uneven. I'm amazed you even managed to throw it that accurately." I smirked proudly. At least someone appreciated my skills.

"Thank you, Gobber. It took me a while to learn how to do it, but about thirty pieces of wood later, I could hit it and bring it back easily. You should see me when it's properly made. Hey, speaking of which, can I use your forge to fix this thing? Eteud's skills are terrible, but I know how to salvage something like a spear-chain," I asked hopefully, looking only at Gobber. He shot a look at Stoick, who shot another look back.

"Fine, fine, but only when I'm there. And you have to do some other things for me as well," he replied grudgingly. I nodded eagerly.

"Sure thing! Might as well make myself useful, right?" Stoick nodded curtly.

"Gobber, make sure that when Addie here is released tomorrow morning, you give her some assignments from me as well. I think the whole village would rest easier when she's doing something helpful," he added, folding his hands in front of him. I shrugged.

"Hey, as long as I can stay here and be fed, I'll do almost anything."

My motto was "you take what you get and you don't throw a fit." Worked wonders for my attitude on Blackstone, and now it would help me on Berk. Funny how things work out.

_Ten minutes later..._

Gobber, Frostwave and I walked out of their house once dinner was over, he making sure I didn't try any funny business, she making sure he didn't try anything, and I admiring the view of Berk at night. I had never seen the moon so clearly before, all huge and pale in the sky, and its cold light made Berk look like something from a story told on the Cajah Hekrdc uv Fiends.

Eventually, we returned to my cell, with Frostwave taking up her post in front of the prison.

"Good night, Gobber," I said cheerfully. He smiled at me and locked me in, then doused the torch in front of my door.

"G'night, lass. See you in the morning," he replied amiably before walking away.

"_Good night, Addie,_" Frostwave called quietly. I smiled and leaned back against the bench.

"Good night, Frostwave," I called back, curling up on the wooden planks just before I fell asleep.

**Author's Notes: Translations are served. Bon appetit!**

**Dnaycina-puq – Treasure-box**

**Cunno – Sorry**

**Zue- – Joi-**

**lydlr-crebc – catch-ships**

**kutc ryja sanlo! – gods have mercy!**

**Beanlehk Neda – Piercing Rite**

**Syngehk Neda – Marking Rite**

**Cajah Hekrdc uv Fiends – Seven Nights of Fiends; a Blackstone holiday held once every four years, during the last week of summer. I'll go further into that in Burnt Ice.**

**And so, Addie's new life on Berk has begun. But it won't be a bed of roses. No sirree. I'm a terrible, terrible person, going by what I have planned next. Let's just say, the Vikings of Berk learn a lesson about not judging a book by its cover, or by its upbringing, you might say. Heh heh heh.**

**Hey, MMM and Ninamory! Thanks for reviewing last chapter! I hope this chapter answered some of your questions.**

**Let's all give a warm welcome to the new additions to the Fire and Ice community, yesboss21 and giant goldfish! Yes, that's what I'm calling my series, the Fire and Ice trilogy, consisting of Frozen Flames, Burnt Ice, and Wings of the Future.**

**Mata ne! Wild Cat 214, out!**


	11. Chapter 10: Integrating Is Hard!

"_A constellation of tears on your lashes  
Burn everything you love, then burn the ashes  
In the end everything collides  
My childhood spat back out the monster that you see"_

_-Fallout Boy, "My Songs Know What You Did In the Dark (Light 'Em Up)"_

**Author's Notes: S'up, peeps! Wild Cat 214 is in the house!**

**So, I went back and corrected some of the earlier chapters. Just a few minor details, mostly to keep things straight. And if you're reading this and thinking, 'What is she talking about? There's been no changes,' then that means you're reading this after I correct it. You're welcome.**

**I'm not sure if I've already mentioned this, but I've decided to put the second movie in Wings of the Future. It's mostly so I'm dealing with one version of Addie at a time, the 15-16 year old, the 18 year old, and the 20-21 year old versions. Which means, Firewolf2012, that Sunspirit and Flameheart will not be starting off the third segment, but will come in shortly after the second movie. And much will be revealed in Wings of the Future, mostly about Addie, Frostwave, and Simon. Much... MUAHAHAHAHAHA!**

**Adeline: Stop laughing and tell me what you have planned already!**

**Wild Cat 214: Never!**

**By the way, in case you couldn't tell earlier, I am completely shameless. I will make references to a lot of different things, and you can enjoy them if you want. Or shake your head slowly, disappointed in how shameless I am. Remember, people, I can't control you. Not unless I figure out how to implant little suggestions in your subconscious while you read this.**

**On to reviews!**

**darkness surrounds me – Thanks for bringing that up! You've helped me decide on what I'm gonna do, so here it is. Frozen Flames is the first of my Fire and Ice trilogy, covering from the end of the first movie to the last episode of Defenders. Part 1: Ice will cover the Blackstone section and the Boneknapper movie. Part 2: Fire will be Riders, and Part 3: Clash will be Defenders. Burnt Ice will be a separate story, with different parts. Same for Wings of the Future. Hope that cleared things up!**

**Spartan322 – Thanks for your praise! **

**MMM – Sadly, no. Addie can only talk to Frostwave, because Silver Horrors can speak a special language thanks to their narrow tongues. Also, they have another special ability related to that, but I'm not gonna reveal that just yet ;) But don't worry. Frostwave can talk to the dragons and translate if necessary.**

**And now, the favorites and followers!**

**Favorite: souleater6072; Spartan322**

**Follow: Retrokill; souleater6072**

**I keep forgetting to mention this, but I will continue to post the names of everyone who favorites or follows this story, simply because I want them to be recognized in public. They're kind enough to keep this poor author going with their silent support. All it takes is a click, or a press of your finger, if you're on your phone, tablet, etc., and voila! Food for thought, literally. So please, keep this author going. She needs your help to live!**

**By the way, I LOVE Fall Out Boy. They're not my only favorite group/artist, but they're right up there with Oingo Boingo, ADELE, Barenaked Ladies, They Might Be Giants, The Killers, and Nobuo Uematsu (the guy that does the music for the Final Fantasy series). If you've got any music you'd like to recommend, just review with the title and artist/band along with any comments you might have.**

**Now read! (tries to type a suggestion into the computer)**

**Disclaimer: When I become Cressida Cowell and actually own the HTTYD fanbase, I'll let you guys know. But unless someone invents a mind-switching device (like in Futurama), that ain't gonna happen anytime soon.**

**Key: Do I even need to explain this?**

**Bold: Translated Benydeyh**

_Italic: Frostwave's translated lines (when from Addie's POV); human language (when Frostwave's POV); emphasis during normal speech_

_**Italic Bold:Translated Benydeyh (when Frostwave's POV)**_

Normal: normal language; emphasis during flashbacks or when Frostwave is speaking

* * *

Adeline's POV

Well, today was officially my second day on Berk. The prison here was definitely better than on Blackstone – at least it had more fresh air and an actual bench for me to sleep on – but I would have given nearly anything for my little Frostwave nest. Berk was cold, a lot colder than Blackstone. Which wasn't surprising. I mean, there were hot springs back there, which was one pro for that island, but there were too many cons to make it worth living on the island.

Gobber came early that morning, the key of my cell held out in front of him like a sword in his right hand.

"Alright, lass. Time to let you out," he grumbled kindly. I smiled at him warmly in return. Gobber's actions yesterday had reinforced the belief that he was a nice guy, if a bit eccentric.

He put the key in the lock, turned it, and with one final resounding clank, the lock of my cell door released its claim on my imprisonment, and I calmly walked out to temporary freedom.

* * *

3rd Person POV: Hiccup

Day broke and woke Hiccup up, though the light was a bit later than a week ago. His sketch was illuminated briefly, warm light washing over the sketch and striking the life in the picture of Addie and Frostwave. He got up, stretched, and looked at Toothless. The Night Fury yawned widely, his teeth coming out and just as quickly retracting, then flicked a lazy glance at his rider and partner, as if to say, "Oh, hello, Hiccup. Top of the morning to you." Okay, maybe not those exact words, but close enough.

"Hey, bud," he said sleepily. Hiccup got out of bed, and that's when it hit him. He wasn't in a cell on Blackstone anymore, or hiding in a cave nearby. He was really home, salty sea air and all.

"It's so weird, but I was almost expecting to wake up somewhere else, Toothless," he murmured in awe. Toothless crooned curiously and got up to look downstairs.

"Yeah, bud. Let's go see Addie," Hiccup said brightly.

They walked down to the ground floor to see Stoick fixing breakfast.

"Ah, Hiccup. I was wondering when you'd come down. I trust you're off to see that pirate girl?" he asked, stirring some of last night's stew left to sit over the dying fire. It had been stoked to a comfortable heat by now, and the pot was bubbling. Hiccup shrugged.

"Her name's Adeline, Dad, and yes, I am going to see her," he replied exasperatedly, but Stoick steamrolled on without waiting for his answer.

"After breakfast, tell her to see Gobber. I think he has something for her to do, once she's taken care of her chores," he ordered casually.

"Okay, okay. I'll tell her. Bye, Dad," Hiccup said, walking to the door. Toothless joined him, and the pair went outside to see if Addie had been let out yet. When they couldn't see any trace of her from the front porch, the pair went further into the village.

_Half an hour later..._

Well, the village had been a bust. Gobber hadn't seen her at all, none of the other kids knew where she was, and most of the villagers simply said that there had been no trace of them. The few that thought they might have seen her simply said that she was somewhere in the village, and even they didn't know exactly where. By the time he checked out the docks, the arena, even the catapults, it was past breakfast time.

"How can a big silver dragon be so hard to find?" he exclaimed exasperatedly. Hiccup returned to his house and was about to give up when he saw the silver tail hanging off of the roof. He blinked at it in mute shock, and turned this look to Toothless. Both of them raised their eyes to the roof, where they could see the absent ex-pirate and her dragon sitting quietly and staring at the ocean. Swearing mentally, Hiccup climbed onto Toothless's back and the pair of them jumped up onto the roof.

Adeline's POV

Frostwave and I had spent most of the morning simply watching Berk wake up. The sunrise had been one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen in my entire life, which wasn't saying much, and seeing how it livened up the whole village was incredible. It was hard to believe that this peaceful village belonged to Vikings, but as the day got older, my disbelief vanished.

First off, Vikings are some of the loudest people I've ever met, and I have a Silver Horror for a dragon. When I say something's loud, it's nearly deafening. I mean, do they really need to yell at each other to wake up? Can't they just have a bell or something, like on Blackstone? Sure, it went off at an ungodly hour just so all the pirates could sing the Faith song before breakfast, but at least they didn't need to threaten pouring a bucket of ice water on them!

Anyways, Gobber had hobbled out of his house over to the forge and immediately starting hammering away at something. A few of the other villagers had hung up clothes to dry or started washing them, while some others walked from house to house and socialized. A group of men and women started walking away from the village with buckets, baskets, and carts, and off in the distance I could see what must have been a farm.

"_There are many wonderful sights in this world, but few may compare to this,_" Frostwave purred contentedly. I nodded and leaned against her side, the heat of her scales leaching through my blouse and into my back. Being like this almost helped me forget... no, nothing could make me forget what had happened on Blackstone. I couldn't tell Hiccup everything that had happened. Because, sympathetic as he was, a part of me whispered that he would never see me the same, not after I revealed that darkest secret to him. And I didn't want that. I wanted him to see me as I showed myself to the world, a bitter, sarcastic ex-pirate that loved sour foods and dragons and being as free as the wind.

"Addie! There you are!" I heard him say from a few feet away. Speak of the devil. My eyes focused out of their blank gaze to see he and Toothless had joined us on the roof. My face started to burn against my will, and my heart fluttered. Gods, would it always make me feel so weird when I saw him?

"Here I am. Should I be somewhere else?" I said as calmly as I could. He rolled his eyes.

"When I came to check on you this morning, you were gone. I thought... that maybe you had left," he worked out awkwardly. I shrugged and turned my head away. Maybe if I didn't look at him, it would be easier to talk to him like a normal person.

"Well, I didn't. I just came up here to watch the sun rise," I replied. That came out a lot colder than it should have, and inwardly I winced. So much for talking like a normal person.

"Oh. I see," he muttered, his voice a bit hurt. I glanced over and put my hand to his shoulder.

"Hey, sorry 'bout that. It just feels a little weird, being away from Blackstone for good." At this, he smiled back at me.

"Okay, then. You sure you should still be up here? What if you fall again?" he asked, worry spiking in at the end. I smirked and pointed behind me at Frostwave.

"If I do, she'll be the one to catch me. Right, Frostwave?" I said over my shoulder. She huffed yet more ice into my hair, and, while I was brushing it out, laughingly crooned, "_I think I'll leave that to Hiccup. I trust him to keep you from hitting the ground. Besides, you two can get to know each other better that way._"

My shocked expression must have bothered Hiccup, because he asked me, "What did she say?" My mouth tried forming the words, but no air would go through.

"...Nothing important. I'm hungry, how about you?" I choked out, sliding down the roof and walls with ease. Hey, I wasn't called Adeline the Agile for nothing.

"Addie!" Hiccup called after me reproachfully, but I ignored him and went straight to the door. My hand rose to knock on the thick wood, and after a few cautious raps, Stoick answered it.

"Ah, Adeline," he said, narrowing his eyes a bit. I waved nervously. Did I mention that the chief had the biggest muscles I've ever seen? Because he did.

"Uh, hi, Chief Stoick," I replied. He raised an eyebrow.

"Please, call me chief," he said smoothly. I nodded.

"Okay, um, chief. Can I have some breakfast, please?" I tried to say as politely as possible. On Blackstone, I was familiar with how to treat everyone. On Berk, well, I was stumbling around in the dark. So, I turned to the only option I had. Being polite.

Stoick looked at me and nodded.

"Of course. Come in, Adeline. I think Hiccup was looking for you," he said, allowing me inside. Frostwave sniffed the air about him warily, but didn't try anything stupidly aggressive, thank the gods.

"Um, yeah, I know. I just saw him," my voice came out quieter than I would have liked. What? He scared me! Especially since I had kissed... kissed... kiss... Oh, gods! Oh my gods, I had kissed the chief's son two days ago! Me! I hadn't known Hiccup was the heir to the leadership of a powerful tribe of Vikings, because if I had, you can bet every last piece of gold in the Jyimd that I would have gone through the proper rituals with Stoick before even touching him. Blackstone discipline had been very serious about that sort of thing, and the old fear of being caught in a situation like the one between me and Hiccup still urged me to never speak of what had happened in the Ynahy. What happened on Blackstone Island _stayed_ on Blackstone Island.

We walked in to see breakfast, which smelled like yak stew with some fresh herbs. Mmmm... Stoick escorted me to a seat across from where Hiccup would sit and placed a bowl of the delicious food in front of me. Finally, people who really knew how to cook. It wasn't the cooks' fault that they had limited ingredients, or the farmers' fault that they had to grow small plots on islands other than Blackstone, but they could have at least tried to make things other than soup and stew. Blackstone's soil is good for growing things – some of the best dirt you'll find in the archipelago – but because of the Silver Horror bones in the ground, none of the plants are suitable for human consumption. Which makes gathering both medicinal herbs and culinary herbs a lot harder, especially on the healers (like me) and the farmers.

Hiccup and Toothless joined us quickly, though I could tell that he wanted to know something. It was all in his posture and the fact that he kept giving me funny looks.

"So, uh, Addie, how was your night?" Hiccup asked after swallowing a spoonful of stew. I shrugged. That wasn't it. He had something else on his mind.

"Cold, but otherwise okay. How 'bout you? Toothless give you any trouble?" I replied, trying to stay calm. I was probably making a big deal out of nothing, but I didn't know the normal Viking customs for dating. What if they took it even more seriously than on Blackstone?

"He was fine. A bit antsy, but otherwise calm," he replied, stirring his stew a little before eating some more. Okay, that was good. Maybe he wouldn't ask me about it.

"Well, if he gives you any trouble, just call. I'll give him some flowers," I promised, a lot more casual than I felt. What if they had a specific punishment for kissing the chief's son without checking with his father first?

"Thanks. So, for today, I was thinking about starting on different verbs and nouns," Hiccup said eagerly. Oh, yeah. He was teaching me how to read and write. I was actually looking forward to that, mostly because I wanted to know how to read something other than the curves of Benydeyh. Being taught on Blackstone was terrible. Not because I didn't like learning – no, I love learning new things – but because they forced me to learn. If I am to be a student, I would rather it be under my own terms. And the deal with Hiccup suited me just fine. Just fine, indeed...

I nodded and grinned at him.

"Yes, Trainer Hiccup," I said mischievously. He rolled his eyes at that, and we finished the meal quickly. Stoick hadn't said a word after letting me in, but now, his vow of silence was broken.

"Adeline, here is your list of chores for today. Try to finish them before dinner," he said gruffly, handing me a piece of paper. I could kind of read what they said, thanks to Hiccup teaching me the letters, but I'd still need his help to understand it. He stood up and walked outside without waiting for my answer. I got the message. This was nonnegotiable, and I had to do it, whether I liked it or not. Before he went through the door, however, he gave us one last searching look. Stoick was probably wondering just what was the relationship between me and Hiccup, and personally, I would have liked to know, too. I would ask Hiccup, but I was too scared to lose what we already had. I had lost so much already, I wasn't going to risk this just yet.

Together, Hiccup, Toothless, Frostwave, and I followed in his wake, leaving the house to cause (more) havoc.

* * *

We met up with the rest of Hiccup's friends near the village center. Fishlegs seemed interested in Frostwave, Snotlout seemed interested in me, Ruffnut and Tuffnut seemed interested in the sky, and Astrid seemed interested in how close I was standing to Hiccup. What? He was the veteran on Berk, not me, so I relied on him to teach me how to act.

"Hi, Hiccup. Hi, Addie," Fishlegs said cheerfully. I waved at him and smiled. Okay, based on what I had seen of them yesterday, he was a nice guy, Snotlout was a mean – but entertaining – guy, the twins weren't the sharpest swords in the armory, and Astrid was a tough girl I didn't want to tangle with right now. Not physically, anyways.

"Hey, there, Fishlegs. How's Meatlug doing?" I asked him. He smiled back.

"She's fine, thanks for asking. How are you, Frostwave?" he asked my dragon. She dipped her head and growled in reply.

"Frostwave says she's good," I translated, though I neglected to mention the part that was directed at Astrid. I don't think she would have taken a dragon telling her to back off of Hiccup very well, even though I keep telling her that it's his choice, not hers or mine, who he dates.

Frostwave smacked my head lightly with her tail and blew some ice at my hair.

"Amazing. You can actually understand her?" Fishlegs asked excitedly. I nodded and glanced at my silvery dragon.

"Yeah, but only when she's speaking a certain language. Otherwise, it just sounds like normal dragon noises," I explained, rapping my knuckles against the scales of her neck. She rolled her eyes and blew another cloud of ice, this time at everyone.

"_These humans are so strange. It is nice meeting people that do not wish to harm you or me, though I wish they made more sense,_" she growled petulantly. I flicked her nose.

"**Shush, you. If you can't understand them, that's your own problem,**" I retorted, and she huffed more ice into my hair. I brushed it out and saw them watching me.

"Um, yes? Is something wrong?" They all shared an awkward look, and the smarter of the two blonde girls sighed.

"Addie, why did you come here?" Astrid asked bluntly. I looked away, and Frostwave placed her head on top of mine, humming the Faith song soothingly.

"Because I wouldn't kill a dragon. This dragon, to be more specific," I replied softly, pointing my thumb at the Silver Horror lounging on my head. She hummed harder, then shot a glare at them (supposedly).

"Uh, okay, but what does she actually do? You never said a thing about Frostwave yesterday," she said, pointing at my dragon. I grinned at her.

"It'd be better if I showed you. Come, Frostwave. Let's show these guys exactly what you can do," I told her. She bared her teeth in anticipation.

"_They will tremble before my might,_" she replied eagerly.

* * *

We went to a cliff a short distance away from the village, with the other dragons suddenly flocking to us. Toothless cocked his head to the side curiously, waiting for the show to begin.

"Well, girl? What are you waiting for? You've already got an audience," I said encouragingly. Frostwave rolled her eyes and huffed even more ice at me.

"_I was waiting for the other dragons. They must see that I am a fully fledged Guardian, not some freshly hatched initiate,_" she snapped warmly (or as warmly as a Silver Horror can get). Taking a deep breath, Frostwave suddenly released a huge blast of ice at a nearby rock.

Ice exploded out from the stone in long spikes at least five feet long, making the rock crack and chip from the sheer expansion of frozen water. Frost spread across the ground in waves of crackling ice, and it wasn't hard to see how she got her name.

I could swear the air around Frostwave got colder, but that's just a side effect. Breathing ice makes her internal body temperature spike up after releasing the frozen water, so she had to be careful not to do it too fast. Otherwise she might overheat and get sick.

"Whoa, that was cool! Do it again!" Tuffnut said, sitting up straight at the sight of so much destruction. I turned to look at her, eyebrow raised in challenge.

"_Oh, I will do more than that. Stand back and let me show them exactly what I can do,_" she said confidently, spreading her wings wide. I made everyone move back a few feet. When we were clear, Frostwave leaped into the air, hovered, and shot three more blasts within the span of a minute. The ice continued to grow, and when it stopped, I carefully ventured out into the slippery field. The spikes had formed pretty structures, like tiny houses, and the ground was blackened with frost. It would take a few years to get the grass in this place to grow back to its previous verdant splendor, but right now it was a winter wonderland.

"_Watch out!_" Frostwave screeched before coming down and skating treacherously over the ice on her claws, dragging her tail after her and making complicated swirls and loops in the frozen surface. I jumped back just as she made a pass near me, the ice coming up in tiny curls in her wake. When she had skidded to a stop, I went over to her carefully and smirked at her.

"**That was pretty impressive. Didn't you do that about a month into our imprisonment?**" I asked her. She blew a cloud of mist at me sheepishly.

"_Yes, but this time I had more room, so I could have more fun without having to worry about injuring you,_" she retorted, "_Besides, don't you have chores to do? Stop fooling around with these human hatchlings and get moving._"

I grinned at her.

"Fine, fine. Hey, guys, I have to take care of a bunch of stuff, so I'll see you all later," I said cheerfully, running off toward the village.

_Five hours later..._

Okay, maybe this had been a bad idea after all.

First on my list was weeding every single garden on Berk. I'm okay with that – I don't mind getting dirty every so often – but still. Every. Single. Garden. I'm just lucky I didn't have to go out to the farms as well and take care of the animals as well.

After that came unloading fish from the dock to help out these two nice guys called Bucket and Mulch. I liked them, even if Bucket was a little slow and Mulch was a bit wary of me at first. Once I convinced them that I had no intention of stealing the fish and killing them, though, they were only too happy to have my help.

Finally, I had to deliver fixed weapons for Gobber. That wasn't too bad, but I had to ask people where each person lived, and that was a pain in the ycc in and of itself. See, the people of Berk aren't exactly sure I won't kill them in their sleep, and it was only after I showed them the note from Gobber explaining my job that one kind lady had given me directions to the four houses on my trip. And carrying a mace, two swords, and an battleaxe around for half an hour is not fun. Especially since I got lost not once, not twice, but a grand total of six times. You'd think it would be easy to find the Larson, Ingerman, Erickson, and Hofferson houses in a village like Berk, but noooo, I just had to have no sense of direction. If it weren't for Frostwave, I would never have delivered them all in time for the lesson with Hiccup.

But finally, my trials and tribulations were over, and I could have my reading and writing lesson with him. Sadly, only part of my brain was focused on learning the different meanings for the same rune (that one that looks like one long line and one short line connected at the top by a diagonal line). The other part... well, let's just say it was focused on my teacher.

I couldn't help it. Hiccup looked so cute when he was focusing on the writing, and as my left hand copied each letter, my right hand was itching to take his left. Oh, gods. I sound just like those girls on Blackstone, the ones that always talk about boys and the latest island gossip. What have I become? What has young love done to me, that I would give up the chance to better myself and take romance instead? So internally, I was at war over learning and loving. Isn't that always the case?

'Snap out of it, Addie! Get your head in the game!' the rational side of me screamed angrily. And again, the head was right, not the heart.

"So, uh, this one could mean a U or a Y?" I asked, pointing at it with my right (might as well remove temptation). Hiccup nodded and moved his left hand to show me how it could be applied. So much for that idea. Now it was within easy grasping distance.

"Yeah. Take the word fury. You use this letter for both the U and the Y."

"Why?"

"Yeah, because otherwise it won't make the "ee" sound... oh. You were asking why you use the same letter," he corrected himself, seeing my expression.

"Yeah. In Benydeyh, there's two different characters, to eliminate any confusion," I told him.

"Well, you'll have to show me later. First, write this down," he commanded, telling me a simply phrase.

I carefully wrote down "The Night Fury flies swiftly," then glanced at Hiccup. He was smiling at me encouragingly. That did it. I couldn't take this anymore.

"I... I need to go somewhere," I said, standing up abruptly and running out the door.

"Addie?" Hiccup called after me, surprise and worry in his words. I didn't listen and instead ran through the village to the woods.

I didn't really know where I was going, or how long I had been gone, but eventually Frostwave caught up to me at this cove I found by accident. Literally. I nearly fell in from high above. It was only because she grabbed the back of my blouse with her teeth that I didn't tumble to a painful end. Or at least, a very painful time.

"_This place has many curious smells and sounds,_" she observed. I gave her a look, but didn't ask. Trust me, it's a bad idea to ask a Silver Horror what they're talking about when it comes to sounds and scents. Their senses are incredible in those regards, so good that I think they can actually smell or hear the past.

"Well, let's check it out," I said energetically. All I wanted was some place to relax, and this would do as well as any other.

We found a way through a few yards away from where we stood, and at first glance the cove was pretty and calm. The late afternoon sunlight made it very tranquil, though Frostwave did say something about a "familiar dragon having lived here" after seeing a few patches of thick grass. Maybe the dragon had burned the grass for its nest, like Toothless did a few times in our cell. Come to think of it, she also mentioned that a few people we knew had been here before. Maybe he was the "familiar dragon" she was talking about.

Now, this place would be my relaxation spot.

I had to get back my calmer state of mind, and I knew just how to do that. I undid my braid, took two locks out from beside my face, and let them hang in front of my ears while I redid the braid, slightly smaller than before. That was how I did my hair for a practice fight. That was how all Blackstone women did their hair before a combat session. My hands loosened the neck and cuffs of my blouse as well. Might as well give me more freedom of movement.

"**Frostwave, it's been a while since we sparred. I think I'm out of practice,**" I said thoughtfully. She grunted out a laugh.

"_Prepare to be beaten splendidly,_" she replied confidently. I grinned at her, and we started marking out the limits of our mock fight.

Frostwave's POV

It wasn't hard to guess that my bondmate's preferred method of relaxation was combat. Fighting didn't make her angry or stress her. If anything, a battle was the best way to get her mind to be cool and collected, to calm her down to a reasonable person. And if there was anything Addie was good at, it was fighting.

I knew she didn't like it being her best skill, because it made her seem more likely to have been a guard or a trainer, not a blacksmith and healer. When I had asked her about it, she had simply replied, "I like helping people, and it's a lot easier to help them when I'm not trying to kill them."

But in a way, fighting was helping. It was helping her state of mind by keeping it stable, helping her body by keeping it in shape, and helping her emotions by releasing them through her punches, kicks, and dodges. And it was helping me, because it made me have hope that Addie would pull through some of her periods of depression.

When she had finished sketching out a large ring with her foot, Addie came up to me and bowed slightly. I dipped my head in response, and together we backed up two steps. She shifted into her fighting stance, and I readied my tail above my back, lowering my head so that it was close to the ground.

On an unspoken cue, we lunged at each other.

Adeline's POV

Sparring with Frostwave had always kept me one step ahead of the other kids on Blackstone, all but the oldest, who had been fighting for far longer than I had. It was part of the reason why I was considered one of the best fighters. I was so used to someone attacking me almost as quickly as lightning that, compared to my dragon's strikes, most of the people I fought seemed as slow as snails. Right now, though, we were both out of practice. That stint on Blackstone hadn't been much of a fight – thanks to Simon's efforts and Frostwave's terrible "singing" – and all those times I had exercised in our cell couldn't bring back the feeling of a real life-or-death situation.

Her tail swiped near my head, and I had to stop thinking just to dodge and roll out of the way. I knew Frostwave would never intentionally hurt me, but accidents happen.

My right foot arced toward her chest, and she writhed out of reach so she could try to scratch the bottom of my foot. I pulled back quickly and sidestepped away from her tail again.

The blood was pumping through my veins, and the sound made me feel alive. It reminded me that I wasn't stuck on Blackstone anymore. I could have a real life on Berk, if I only reached out and grabbed it.

That was when I tripped, just before I could dodge her tail. Too late, I tried to get out of the way, only to feel it cut through my braid and the entire back of my blouse.

The pain was horrifyingly familiar, a phantom nightmare of my childhood that rose up with the smooth scratch Frostwave had inflicted on my back. The blast of cold air that hit my back with the tearing of my blouse made me shiver, and not just because of the chill.

"_Addie! Are you okay?_" she wailed in horror. I nodded and reached behind me. A trickle of warm blood met my searching fingers, and I grimaced. She scurried behind me and saw the wound.

"_Oh, Addie, I am so sorry!_" Frostwave cried out in despair. I rolled my eyes and managed to twist my head around to glare at her.

"**Hey, instead of apologizing for an accident, can you lick the wound? I'd do it myself, but my tongue doesn't reach that far!**" I shouted, annoyed. Every time. Every. Single. Damn. Time. Frostwave would start saying she was sorry and not actually help after she hurt me during a match. And maybe it was the pain from the injury talking, but I had had enough.

"**Frostwave, I swear to all the Aesir and Vanir that if you don't lick it, I will personally lock you in a cage with a bucket of eels,**" I said sweetly. That got her moving. Frostwave would eat eels, but she would never like being near that many.

She opened her mouth and started licking the scratch. It stung a lot, and her breath made the wet spots even colder, but that was good. Silver Horror saliva is actually really beneficial for injuries like this, because it acts like salt water or alcohol and keeps the wound from being infected (don't ask me why. Maybe it's because they're such sticklers for being clean, even in their mouths). And that's why I mix some into the antidote for Gale's Poison, along with some powdered tansy to preserve it. I always kept a supply of that stuff on hand, for keeping my medicines, ointments, and unguents from spoiling or going bad. Salt water also worked, though it made the wound sting a lot more than her spit would.

When she hummed proudly, I knew she had gotten all of it. It still felt like a yak had kicked me all over my back, but at least I wouldn't have to worry about it for a while.

"Okay, girl. Let's go back to the village. I've had enough fighting for one day," I groaned, making sure to keep the back of my blouse closed. You know, I had kind of expected it to fall apart at one point. I've been wearing it for the past three years in a row, and her biting it earlier probably didn't help. Frostwave walked close beside me, covering my back with her left wing to help protect it, and slowly we made it back to the village.

Thankfully, I didn't meet anyone who would ask why I had my hands behind me or why Frostwave was shielding my back from the world. The few villagers that I passed by simply saw me and sighed, shaking their heads, then moved on. They probably thought I had found something in the woods or- wait. I hadn't put my hair back up in a braid, and so I had two long locks framing my face while a mass of shortened hair curled up in the back. No wonder they were giving me weird looks.

"Let's get back before someone asks what happened to us," I whispered to Frostwave. She hummed in agreement, and we managed to get inside Hiccup and Stoick's house without incident. Maybe my Norn was in a good mood today, you know, after seeing me get injured when I was trying to calm down.

Of course, that's when it got awkward.

3rd Person POV: Hiccup

Hiccup returned to see Stoick sitting by the fire, stoking it with a metal poker, and a large basket with some cloth peeking out the top. The chief looked up at their approach and nodded in greeting.

"Hiccup. Toothless. Where's that pirate girl and her dragon?" he asked curiously. Hiccup rolled his eyes and came further inside.

"If you mean Addie and Frostwave, then I don't know. They're not causing any trouble right now, though, and I think they'll be back later," he replied casually. Stoick grunted in reply. Well, at least he wasn't going full Viking on him. That was something. And it was enough to help his son muster the courage to ask about the one thing on his mind.

"Hey, Dad, you remember that conversation we had yesterday?" Hiccup said nervously. Stoick raised his eyes from the burning logs and raised an eyebrow.

"Yes... and if you want me to remove the sentence on Addie, then I'm not listening," he replied stubbornly. Hiccup sighed.

"It's not like that. Not entirely, anyway. How about you give her a place to stay that's warmer than the prison? She can't do any work if she's too sick to move," he reasoned. His father thought about it carefully.

"I have an idea. Tonight, Adeline stays in her cell. Afterwards, she can stay here, in the room on the right, unless someone else offers to take her in. Speaking of taking her in, I have something for her," he replied shrewdly, holding up the container.

"Here you go. Welcoming gifts from the villagers," his father said, handing him the basket. He struggled under its weight, but managed to carry it over to the ground floor room Addie had been given temporarily. Hiccup set it down in a recently dusted corner and surveyed the room. It was nice, if a bit dusty. So he had taken it upon himself to clean it up, move all her things (including the cloth bundle that she had rescued from the Silver Horror graveyard), and set them inside. Tomorrow, Addie could stay somewhere warm with Frostwave. Tonight was her last night in the cell.

* * *

Hiccup heard the door downstairs open and looked toward the sound hopefully. Was Addie back? Toothless did the same, and, with an enthusiastic growl at him, padded downstairs. The Viking boy set down his pencil on his current sketch, followed, his dragon and smiled at the sight of the ex-pirate girl and her dragon in the main room. Stoick had returned to the village to check up on her work, so he wasn't there to see her come back.

"Addie! You're back," he said cheerfully. Hiccup had hoped she would come back after that scene earlier, but a part of him had thought she would simply leave.

She looked up at him, and a flicker of hope flashed into being, and faded just as quickly, on her face.

"Oh, uh, hi, Hiccup," she mumbled, averting her gaze and keeping her hands behind her back. He tried to see what she was hiding, but Frostwave drew her wing closer to the girl and glared at him coldly.

"Is something wrong?" he asked carefully. Addie shook her head rapidly, wincing just a bit, and he could see that something had been done to her hair. The longest pieces were in front of her ears, while all the rest gradually decreased in length until it reached the back, where it was the shortest of all.

"You, uh, you cut your hair," he observed. Hiccup could have sworn the temperature of the room increased as both Frostwave and Addie shared a confusing look.

"You might say it's a recent development," she replied vaguely. Hiccup nodded distractedly, then looked down the hall.

"There's, uh, a room down the hall for you. My father and I set it up for you," he told her, gesturing toward a door in the middle, on the right from the entrance. She followed his hand to the door and nodded quietly in reply. Something behind him caught her eye, and she pointed.

"Hey, can you hand me that axe up there?" she asked, pointing at something up on the wall near the stairs. Hiccup turned, got it down, and placed it in her outstretched hand. Just before she took it and hefted it up with her left, he could have sworn he saw something red on her hand, but it was gone before he had a chance to ask her about it.

"Thanks. I'll, uh, be in my room for the rest of the day," Addie said, acting just a bit too calm to be normal. She and Frostwave hurried into the back of the house, leaving a bewildered Hiccup and Toothless to stare after them.

"Well, that was weird, right, bud?" he said to the Night Fury. Toothless growled in agreement, and together the two of them went back up, Hiccup to work on his sketch of Frostwave and Addie together, and Toothless to nap.

Adeline's POV

'That was too close for comfort,' I instantly thought as soon as the door to my temporary living arrangements swung shut. Frostwave sniffed at a basket near the door, the lid covering whatever was inside, and I warily walked over, axe in hand. What if it was some sort of crazy surprise?

Frostwave slipped the tip of her tail under the lid, ready to freeze whatever might attack, and flipped it.

All that was inside was a bunch of clothes, a few old weapons, and some books that had seen better days. I set the axe down and pulled out a knife in its sheath, the well-worn leather soft under my hands. Frostwave sniffed it curiously, then shrugged her wings.

"_This blade has not tasted the blood of a dragon. I approve,_" she said calmly. I gave her a painfully amused look.

"Says the dragon that just a few minutes ago ran her tail down my back. I'm gonna ask Hiccup what this is all about," I replied dryly, leaving her to blow a cloud of mist at my open back. Fortunately, it had been a very shallow wound, and part of it had already healed over. Thank the gods for small blessings. When I opened the door, I was careful to only poke my head out as much as I needed to yell at Hiccup.

"Hey, Hiccup! Why's there a basket of stuff in here?" I shouted through the house. There was the sound of mismatched feet above me, and I saw him look at me from the stairs.

"They're welcoming gifts from the villagers," he replied loudly. I nodded and ducked back inside to tell her. Then I remembered her hearing was some of the best among dragonkind, and I mentally smacked my head.

"_I heard. So the humans of this settlement wish to greet you properly,_" Frostwave stated coolly. I shrugged, then immediately regretted it. My back felt all prickly now, but at least I knew Frostwave had kept the wound clean.

"That's their problem, not mine. I guess Berk does have some perks Blackstone lacks," I mused, looking at the knife.

"Since they're giving these to me as gifts... does that mean I can do what I want with them now?" I asked her. Frostwave hummed while she thought, then shifted her wings in reply.

"Some help you are. I'm just gonna assume that's what they're going for, seeing as they didn't really try to find things in my size," I said, reaching in and pulling out a huge, dark red dress. Four Addies could easily have fit inside and still have room to move. I managed to pull out the books and set them on the bed, then dug out another knife, a short sword that was nearly a dagger, and a bow with a half-full quiver of arrows. Then I saw three more dresses exactly like the first. Jeez, had they basically given me all the stuff they didn't need? 'Cause that's what it was starting to look like.

_Half an hour later..._

With Frostwave's help, the catalog of the "welcome to Berk" gifts totaled to this:

-four dark red dresses, each exactly the same

-two knives, both a bit used, but pronounced "clean" by Frostwave

-a short sword/dagger that had already gone through its glory days, but could be fixed up, when I had the time

-three dark gray long skirts made of a soft fabric similar to the inside of leather

-a battered, plain, wooden bow with a beat up string and half an old quiver of arrows that were barely worthy of being called weapons

-several pairs of soft black leggings that actually fit me, instead of reaching down to mid-shin when the cuffs were dropped

-two pairs of boots similar to mine, though slightly bigger

-a net (Seriously, who gives a net?)

-several pairs of newly darned socks

-a few rolls of finely made wool, finer than I would have expected from the looms of Berk

-lots and lots of scrap fabric and leather, including strips, pieces, and parts of what must have been clothes or saddles at one point

-five books, titled _Herbs of the Barbaric Archipelago_, _Fishing Practices of the Northern Tribes_, _A Genealogy of the Hairy Hooligans and Other Peoples of the Archipelago_, _The Tales of Baddle the Berserker_, and a tiny manual with the word _Knots_ stamped on its leather-bound cover in faded gold paint (it had been very hard to read them all, but thanks to the lessons I had gotten so far, I could at least recognize each letter and ask Frostwave what they spelled)

Okay, so was I now the recipient of all the hand-me-downs and castoffs that people were willing to part with? Their goodwill in giving me all this was obvious, but really? A net?! What in Thor's name was I supposed to do with a net?

I sighed, then realized there had been no mention of preserving the presents. An evil grin spread across my face, and Frostwave sighed a cloud of ice at my face.

"_I'll just be over here,_" she growled, settling on a hard stone slab that must have taken a lot of work to get in here. I shot her a smirk and went over to the cloth bundle on top of my medicine kit. Just as I thought, it protected my dnaycina-buq, and I pulled out the wad of thread and a needle.

My skill at sewing was... passable. I was better at stitching wounds closed than at making clothes, but with the two knives it shouldn't be too hard to make me some clothes that actually fit me.

_That evening..._

My labors were finished. Laid out on my bed were seven identical sets of clothing. Why seven? One for each day of the week, so I could wear a clean version each day. After spending three years in the same clothes from when I was twelve, I was prepared to do whatever it took to wear different clothing every day, even if it meant more washing.

I now had: a sleeveless red shirt with leather pauldrons sewn to the armholes, with leather straps crisscrossing in front and back from each; a dark gray skirt that ended at about my knees, with slits in the side for easy maneuvering, and slits in the top for my belt to go through; comfy black leggings that were actually a bit longer than the legs they went on (hey, I could always roll up the bottom); the wool socks, which were either black or white, as it is, actually numbering six, but I could always make a pair from the scrap fabric left over from my efforts; and two pairs of boots that I could alternate. I had also sewn little leather bands on longer pieces to the inside of the front and back of my skirt, so I could hold it down when necessary and still leave my hands free.

In my opinion, it was some of the best work I've done in... oh, about four years.

Since my injury had healed, all I had to do was have Frostwave wrap a roll of bandages around me (which was helped by her long neck and strong jaws), slip back on my old clothes, tie my belt, and face the dilemma of my hair.

Normally, I'm not the sort of person that cares about her looks. I'll get dressed in something clean that isn't too outrageous, put my hair back in a braid, wash my mouth out, and I'm done. But this was scary.

The two locks I had taken out of my braid were the only things left of that hairstyle. The rest was weird. From my ears back, it started long and shrank until it was only a few inches long in the back. And I didn't like it. If it was going to be like that, I preferred to keep it all one length. Since I can't magically make my hair grow that fast, the only way to go was shorter.

I set the axe down where I could see my reflection in its highly polished surface, made a face at myself, and picked up the knife.

"**Frostwave, I'm cutting my hair. Don't get too alarmed,**" I said calmly. She crooned uncomfortably, but didn't try to do anything. I think she was afraid that if she accidentally nudged me, I'd end up cutting off an ear. Hey, I could change my name to Half-deaf Adeline, and show off where the stupid thing should be to all the kids.

Frostwave helped by breathing mist into my hair, which got it damp. Once I was sure it was ready, I started slicing off hair.

_A few minutes later..._

Well, it would do.

I had managed to make my hair reach to about the same length all around my head, except for my two longer locks (I was saving those for something special), and now it was quite short. Not boyish short, but not particularly long, either. My bangs had been trimmed as well, so that now they only covered my forehead. Setting the knife down, I grabbed a piece of string and the two locks, pulled them behind my head, and tied them together close to my head. Now I had some sort of ponytail coming from the back of my head.

"That'll do," I murmured. I stood up and went over to the clothes on my bed, selected one of seven identical outfits, and undressed. I had made sure to get as much hair as I could in my hands and onto the small table, but there were still a few tiny pieces on my torn blouse. Man, I was glad to finally be free of that thing. It had seen so much suffering, and now I was casting it off like a snake with its old skin. Maybe that's what was happening. I was shedding the old and revealing the new.

When I had completely undressed, Frostwave gave me a quick bath with her tongue, I took a set of undergarments that I had made from the really fine wool (I almost didn't think it was wool at first – that's how soft and smooth it was – but Frostwave said it smelt of sheep, and who am I to argue with her nose?), pulled on the drawers and the band of cloth that I could tighten with a few large knots and loops in the back (hey, that little book had proven pretty useful), and pulled on my new clothes. She had been careful to avoid the bandages, and mostly focused on my upper body, where the most hair had gathered, so thanks for small blessings.

Now I was ready to face the world.

"Well, Berk. Ready or not, here comes the new Addie," I muttered, walking out the door with Frostwave. This was the true beginning of my life on Berk. Yesterday had been a dress rehearsal. And I was going to ace this performance, as much as is humanly possible.

3rd Person POV: Hiccup

Hiccup and Toothless were working quietly in their room when Stoick came back from making the village run smoothly, the boy on some sort of mysterious contraption, and the dragon on a nap. The chief seemed to be in a good mood that night, despite Hiccup's little burst of fear that he would be furious with Addie, but he didn't want to push his luck. The two of them went downstairs to see him starting to cook dinner – which they would reheat in the morning for breakfast – and he looked up at their approach.

"Ah, Hiccup, there you are. Have you seen Addie?" Stoick asked pleasantly. Hiccup smiled nervously.

"Uh, yeah, she came back a few hours ago. Why are you asking?" That was when his father started whistling a jaunty tune.

"Oh, well, apparently a few of the villagers wanted to thank her for helping with their gardens. Phlegma said it's the best work she's seen in years," he explained cheerfully. It was obvious his father had reconsidered his earlier impression of the girl. He had to tell Addie.

At that moment, she and Frostwave came out, and any thought of telling her the good news vanished.

Addie was standing uncertainly in the entrance to the hallway, wearing a different outfit than before. The dark colors complimented her skin, hair, and eyes, but that wasn't the only shocking thing about her new look. Her hair was shorter, yes, and tied back in a hairstyle he had never seen before, but that wasn't it either.

Addie's upper arms were lined with narrow scars.

Some were only an inch long. Some went all the way from her elbow to under the leather covering her shoulder. A few even went horizontal instead of vertical. The rest were in between these lengths. There were so many, it looked like the map of some incomprehensible city, showing the expanse of intersecting roads and streets. Hiccup and his father glanced at each other, as if trying to make sure this wasn't just some trick of the firelight. But the horrified expressions on both their faces said the same thing. Those shiny lines were real.

"Um, hi," she said, no more than a breath. It was obvious Addie was more than nervous. She seemed to be on the verge of going back to her room, or maybe running out the back door. And that would have been very bad.

"Uh... hi, Addie. Nice clothes," Hiccup said, trying to keep his voice calm. No animal or plant could have made those lines. They were too neat, too perfect, and they never got lower than her elbow. Whoever had made those, they were an expert with a knife. The thought terrified him. Someone had deliberately hurt Addie, leaving her with indelible marks of his efforts. How long had she had those? A year? Two? Three? Even longer?

Frostwave crooned something encouragingly to her rider, and the two of them walked further into the room. The girl sat at the table, the dragon just behind her, and a heavy silence settled on them all. Toothless went up to the scarred girl and put his head in her lap, crooning gently. Addie looked down at him and started petting his head, a small smile returning to her face. That seemed to break the silence, and Stoick began serving them all up.

"So, uh, Adeline, how was your day?" his father asked, looking only at her face. She shrugged with one shoulder, pulled a small book out of her skirt with her left hand, and started eating with her right once he had taken a bite.

"It was okay. I got this interesting book on knots from the villagers," she said, holding it up and showing him the old cover. Something about this bothered Hiccup, and it took him a few minutes to realize it.

"Addie, aren't you left-handed, like me?" he asked. From where he sat, she was using her right hand like she had always used it, even though earlier she had used her left hand to write. Addie looked down at her hands and shrugged.

"Nope. I'm ambidextrous. I can use both hands equally well. It's one of the few things Blackstone accepted about me, since it meant I could do twice as many things at the same time," she replied bitterly, holding up her spoon and book.

"See?" Without warning, she suddenly switched them in her hands and started eating and reading again, exactly as well as before. She swallowed a bite of the stew and grinned at him.

"I was just using my left 'cause that's what you were doing." Stoick chuckled at this.

"Looks like she's one-upped you, Hiccup," he said jovially. Addie smiled at him, and Hiccup rolled his eyes.

"Yes, yes, Addie beat me fair and square," he said sarcastically. Addie smirked and patted his back.

"Don't worry, Hiccup. I'm sure you're better than me at something," she said consolingly.

* * *

That was how dinner went, with the three of them joking around about what Hiccup and Addie were good at and the two dragons watching with curious amusement while they ate. All of them studiously avoided mentioning the scars. The ex-pirate had an aura about her that said: _mention them and I will kill you_.

Soon, it was time for Addie to return to her cell.

"A deal is a deal, Hiccup. Tomorrow she can sleep here, but tonight, Adeline must stay in her cell," Stoick said firmly. Hiccup bit back the argument he was going to make. When his father set his mind to something, it was almost impossible to change his mind. It took a life-threatening experience, like what had happened several weeks ago, to get him to change.

"Hey, it's fine, Hiccup," Addie said casually. "I don't like sleeping in beds anyways." The two Viking men gave her a confused look, but they didn't press the matter. Sometimes, it was better not to ask.

"Well, that settles it. Tomorrow, you can continue your lessons. AFTER Adeline does her chores," he said to his son. Hiccup frowned, but that was the end of it. Stoick escorted Adeline and Frostwave back to the jail, and he went back inside with Toothless.

* * *

Adeline's POV

Breaking out was easy. I wanted to talk to Hiccup some more. So I picked the lock, opened the squeaky door cautiously, and crept back through the village to the chief's house, Frostwave just behind me with her scales glinting in the moonlight like captive stars. She gave me a boost up to Hiccup's window, and I sat on the sill. He and Toothless were asleep already.

I could feel goosebumps race up my bare arms from the chill in the air. That's right. It was nearly winter. Maybe I would see real snow.

"Well, I tried," I muttered. Oh, well. I could talk to him later. I wanted to ask him about the total number of letters in the Viking language and compare them to the total in Benydeyh, see if there were any similarities. Languages were fun, but annoying, that way.

'Although... I might as well do one last thing,' I thought curiously. Sneaking a glance around me, mostly at the stairs and out the window, I crept inside, bent down near Hiccup, and lightly kissed his cheek. It was really more like a peck.

I giggled suddenly. Where had this girl come from, this me that kissed boys and actually thought of them in terms other than "family" and "foe"? Whoever she was, it brought a thrill to my chest, a new feeling for me. The only things I would be stealing from Berk were kisses.

Hiccup grumbled in his sleep, and I straightened, took a quick look at the stairs, and retreated back out the window. Frostwave helped me get to my cell, and I managed to sneak the keys from the forge so I could lock myself in, then my dragon rushed them back. I went to sleep that night happy, because I had done something I would never have done before. From that time on, I wouldn't try to hide as much behind Blackstone tradition. Those rules didn't apply anymore. Not to me, and certainly not to Berk. Though there were some good things that had come out of that strange island.

Overhead, the moon and stars stared down coldly, watching these events unfold.

* * *

3rd Person POV: No One In Particular

As the moonlight shone down on the cove where so many important events had happened, it struck the braid lying on the ground. The shadow of the heavy piece of Addie's hair grew, creating the twisted outline of a woman with hair that floated like it was underwater. But unlike the benign golden lady of her dream, this was the opposite. This was the beast beneath your bed, in your closet, in your head.

The dark woman rose from the ground, taking on three-dimensional form like a human cloaked in shadows, and disconnected from the braid's shadow. The tufts of grass around her withered away, repulsed by her very presence. Even the night birds stopped singing when she coalesced. Her aura radiated pure Darknesse, inky tendrils of the vile ooze waving lazily around her body.

She held out a hand, and a creature appeared, a wretched being formed from the shadows of the night. It looked like someone had taken a Terrible Terror, contorted its body until it was a mockery of its own kind, made a mold of it, and poured liquid Darknesse into it.

"_Yesss... Mistress...?_" it hissed, its voice like fallen leaves skittering over the ground in a breeze. The dark lady pointed at the braid of hair, glistening silver in the light of the moon.

"_**Bring that to the citadel. Have Stalwart start analyzing it for the final battle,**_" she ordered icily. Unlike the raspy servant, her voice was like the night personified, all cool darkness and secrets unseen by the light of day.

The creature dipped its head in reply, then fluttered over to the locks of hair. It fastened its misshapen jaws around the brown hair, red eyes glowing dully, then vanished with the faintest smell of burning hair. Its mistress watched it go, then turned her head toward the village.

"_**That fool thinks she can defeat me with a broken soul like that? Well, two can play that game. Lucia isn't the only one with magic,**_" she snarled maliciously. Wrapping her cloak of shadows around her, the dark lady disappeared, leaving an ominous feeling over that spot.

The only trace of her presence was the circle of dead grass where she had stood, two feet in diameter.

**Author's Notes: Hey, where are those translations I ordered? Oh, wait. There they are. Sorry, Joe!**

**Jyimd – Vault**

**Ynahy – Arena**

**Benydeyh – Piratian, but I plan on keeping it in this form. It looks better like this, right?**

**ycc – Do I even need to translate this? You're all smart people, you can figure it out just from context.**

**dnaycina-buq – treasure-box**

**Oh, yes, I am evil. Am I the dark lady? Well, that depends. Do you really think I would have her be planning something with that braid? Don't answer that. She and the golden lady will be very important later on, making a few appearances in dreams and the like, but their real claim to fame will come far in the future.**

**Yeah, and I may be kind of cruel, not telling you how Addie got those scars. But I think you smart people can figure out how. You're all wonderful, brilliant people, and anyone who says otherwise is either stupid, jealous, or both. Or just a jerk who doesn't appreciate us. It's hard being as awesome as all of us in this world, am I right?**

**Originally, this was going to be two chapters, but I merged them because I wanted to get to the fun parts. So I keep writing and writing, and it ends up so long. I'm sorry for those that like a quick read. JK, I'm not :P Reading is good for you! It makes you smarter, and you can learn cool words! So read a book! Or this! Whichever you prefer! And now I'll stop typing exclamation points.**

**Or not. Please REVIEW! Your feedback helps me LIVE!**

**Wild Cat 214, out!**

**Okay, _now_ I'll stop.**


	12. Chapter 11: Truth Shrouded In Mist

"_Does anybody even notice? Does anybody even care?"_

_-Dawn, from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season Six's episode, "Once More, With Feeling"_

**Author's Notes: And so, we arrive at the more canon stories. But naturally, there will be changes because Addie is there. It'd be kind of weird if there weren't any alterations. Am I right? But this story mostly just has some dialogue shifts, with one brief change in how it went. What change is that? I'll leave you to see for yourself.**

**Favorite – JustanamelessGirl; Shadowknight77; macwag5; silentdemise79**

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**You know, it's fun to see all the crazy nom de plumes people have on this site.**

**If you guys like reading, I know some really great books. They're the InCryptid novels and the October Daye novels by Seanan McGuire, and I love them. I've even met the author, although I didn't realize it was her until my mom told me who she was. The InCryptid novels are about a family that try to hide the creatures that modern science doesn't accept as real (gorgons, chupacabras, dragons, etc.), and the October Daye novels are about a changeling living in San Francisco, where she is a PI and a knight of Faerie. They're really awesome. I'm not entirely sure how else to describe them, which is kind of sad for a writer.**

**Please R&amp;R! I'm tired of reminding you at the bottom.**

**Disclaimer: HTTYD is not mine. Just my OC's, deviations, and original plot lines. Got it?**

**Key: Y'all know why this is here.**

**Bold: Translated Benydeyh**

_Italic: Frostwave's translated lines (when from Addie's POV); human language (when Frostwave's POV); emphasis during normal speech_

_**Italic Bold:Translated Benydeyh (when Frostwave's POV)**_

Normal: normal Norse; emphasis during flashbacks or when Frostwave is speaking

-8

_Part 2: Fire_

_A week later..._

Adeline's POV

_It was the realm of my dreams again, that same world of obsidian and light, and as usual, that weird golden lady was there. That nightmare on Blackstone hadn't been the first time I saw her, and I had a feeling this wouldn't be the last._

_"_**Adeline, Guardian of Kindness, I fear Lady Deorca, the monster the dragons know by the name of She Who Serves the Darknesse, will try to send her forces against you in the days to come. Her servants do not always know she is their master, but all are united in their purpose, and that is why you must be prepared. I cannot lose you. All of reality cannot lose you. Without your aid in the final battle, the power of Lighte might yet fail, and all my work will have been for naught,**_" she said gravely. I rolled my eyes and started floating. Hey, it was a dream. If I wanted to, I could probably dye my hair the color of dragon nip flowers and not even break a sweat._

_"__You say that, yet I don't believe you for some strange reason. I've heard enough stories about those girls and boys who turn out to be the lost prince or princess of some powerful kingdom, and I don't plan on that being me. I'm perfectly fine just being me. Besides, how would I be able to help you out in some final battle? I don't even know where you are!" I replied dryly. The lady shook her head, and waved a hand. Where her palm had passed through the air, an image of a golden building, all delicate spires and intricate stonework that looked like it was made of solid gold, appeared._

_"_**When you have grown into your birthright, when the other Guardians are ready, then I will summon you to my citadel. Haizhe will ensure your safe arrival, along with the allies you will need. Until then, Kindness, farewell. May the winds support your wings,**_" she said, and I recognized the traditional dragon phrase for goodbye. I sighed, but bowed my head in reply._

_"__And may the stars guide you to safe nests," I said bitterly. I didn't really get this lady, but it wasn't hard to guess she had more power than a normal human did. And somehow, I was important to her plans for fighting this Lady Deorca. Whoever she was, I didn't really like the sound of her._

_Or the sound of what was coming next._

"Fire!"

_Now that was a cry I hadn't heard before._

The alarming shout of one of the Viking men would have woken me up, even if Frostwave hadn't pushed her nose into my belly.

"_Addie, Addie, wake up! There is a problem in the village!_" she hummed in concern.

"Yeah, I heard," I replied, not too sleepy to be sarcastic. Hey, it was a gift. Before she could huff a cloud of mist into my face, I sat up, rubbed the little kernels of sleep out of my weary eyes, and rolled out of bed. Frostwave was waiting impatiently by the window for me to get up, and when she saw I was at least conscious, she hummed eagerly.

"_Hurry! I do not like the looks of this!_" she growled in worried excitement.

I jumped on Frostwave's neck, even though it was some time before dawn, and we flew out of the window. A house was on fire, but everything seemed under control. Stoick was directing the brigade from in front of the house. And I knew that place, and seeing it in flames gave me a very bad feeling. My tired brain wouldn't work right now, though, and the dancing sparks attracted me like nothing else.

"The wind is shifting! Fire Brigade, move in! Bring the Nadders in from the South!" he commanded.

"I'm on it!" Astrid shouted as she led a group of Nadders on Stormfly and dropped some sand on the burning building. That helped, though the ferocious blaze still snapped and crackled in defiance of their efforts. It didn't deter him, though. I think it would take ten thousand angry dragons just to get him to try and stop. The guy is more stubborn than I am, and that's saying something.

"Gronckles, aim for the roof!" he shouted again. This time, Fishlegs led some of the tubby, tough dragons in and dropped troughs of water on the fire. It was really weakening now, but a few rebellious flames licked at the dark sky.

"Yeah!" he shouted triumphantly. Overhead, I saw Hiccup and Toothless dump a bucket of water on it.

"C'mon, girl. We have to help out," I said encouragingly. Frostwave shook her head eagerly.

"_Gladly._"

We flew into the air, and Frostwave let loose some of her ice. Where it hit the house, spikes of ice about five feet long started to crystallize and put out the fire, and their melting created more water to extinguish the flames. The spikes spread about ten feet before stopping, water already starting to drip off them from the heat. We landed beside Stoick and the newly landed Hiccup and Toothless, and I dismounted quickly.

"Good work, just a few hot spots left," he said proudly. I smiled at him, then tried to remember why I had a bad feeling about that house. Hiccup answered that for me.

"Where's Gobber? Is he still inside?" he asked, worried about the blacksmith. Oh, yeah. That was Gobber's house. His house being on fire was very, VERY bad. Stoick shook his head.

"No, we can't find him," he said grimly. I heard a clanking sound behind me and turned.

"I'm right here," he grumbled from in front of the smithy, a cart of weapons, shields, and pretty much everything else he could take from his forge in front of him. Well, at least he was alive and kicking.

"That beast will pay for this!" he shouted, shaking his hook at the sky angrily. I gave Hiccup and Frostwave a confused look. Um, okay...? What was he talking about?

Stoick came forward and looked at him.

"Gobber, what happened" he asked concernedly.

"What's it look like? A dragon set my home on fire!"

"What? Ruffnut said in confusion. I didn't blame her. All the dragons around here hadn't set anything on fire since that accident with Frostwave (that poor yak).

"You've pushed me too far this time, you ugly bag of bones!" he shouted again, glaring at the sky. Frostwave let out a surprised hiss.

"What is it, girl?" I asked her quietly. She didn't answer, but I could see the cogs of her mind turning.

"Dad, what's he talking about? Our dragons don't do that anymore," Hiccup asked bemusedly. The chief sighed, and I could tell he was fed up with something.

"He doesn't mean one of yours. Gobber, for the last time, there is no such thing as a-"

"Boneknapper?!" Gobber cut in defiantly. The entire village, except for me and the other teens, sighed just like Stoick had.

"A what-knapper?" Tuffnut said warily. Gobber turned his steely gaze on the male half of the Thorston Twins.

"A disgusting, foul beast, wearing a coat of stolen bones like a giant, flying skeleton," he replied. I pictured that and shuddered. The tales I had heard from Trader Johann as a kid about a land in the south where the dead were raised to become mindless slaves to a witch doctor's will still sounded creepy, even after several years. To think there was a dragon that looked like that...

"The Dragon Manual says that the Boneknapper will stop at nothing to find the perfect bone to build its coat of armor. It's awesome!" Fishlegs said eagerly. Great. Tenacious and eerie. Just my luck.

"Come on, it's just a myth. It doesn't even exist," Stoick said skeptically. Frostwave huffed a cloud of mist at him.

"_That shows what you know, human,_" she replied derisively. I gave her a confused look, but I couldn't ask her the question on my mind because of Gobber.

"I'm telling you, it's real! I've been running from him my whole life. He's the one who started this fire," he declared assuredly. Frostwave gave the chief a smug look, well, smugger than she normally looks. She always looks kind of smug, when she's not pulling the cute act. Another Viking man came up with something white and blackened on a stick.

"Stoick, we found Gobber's underpants hanging by the stove. They must have started the fire," he explained. And that made bile rise up in my throat. Seriously? I didn't need to see that! Stoick chuckled.

"Still think it's the Boneknapper, or just your underpants?" he asked jokingly, holding up the undergarment shish-kebab. Gobber glared at him.

"I don't think! I know! Somehow he found me again. That dragon is pure evil," he said. I shared a sad look with Frostwave.

"Gobber, it's late, and we're too tired for your stories. Now, get some rest," Stoick said wearily. Gobber shook his head.

"You rest. I'm putting an end to this." With that, he started to wheel the cart down to the docks. A sheep watched him curiously (or at least, as curiously as they get).

"Come on, Phil. Let's go. We don't need their help anyways," he said to the animal. It bleated at us and trailed after the angrily muttering blacksmith. Stoick and the other villagers began to walk away, but the rest of the teens stayed. Hiccup stared after him sadly.

"We can't let him go by himself, Addie," he said to me. I looked at Frostwave, and she gave me a patch of ice in my hair. I brushed it out easily.

"Frostwave, are you okay with this? I know how you feel about dragon death," I asked her carefully. She blew another cloud of ice at my hair, and I brushed it out again.

"_While I mourn any action that results in the death of a dragon, I know from experience that there are those that must be put down. If any dragon's blood has been tainted by She Who Serves the Darknesse's influence, then I will not blame you if you must kill it,_" she replied ruefully. I sighed and looked at Hiccup.

"Well, Frostwave says she's okay with it," I told him. He nodded.

"Alright, Vikings! Grab your shields," he told the others. All but Snotlout looked enthusiastic about this, and a few even let their agreement be made audible.

"There's no way I'm getting on a boat to go after a fake dragon," he said mulishly.

_Half an hour later..._

We were all manning the oars of a ship Gobber had borrowed, including Snotlout. Gobber stood at the rudder and helped steer while we provided the forward power. Phil was somewhere near the prow with our supplies.

I, meanwhile, was sitting next to Hiccup, closest to the outside of the ship. I didn't mind. I wasn't scared of water. That would have been a very stupid fear for an ex-pirate to have.

It was the sitting next to Hiccup part that I did mind. I could tell Astrid didn't like how close we were, and right now I swore he could hear my heart pounding. Gods, was it always going to be like this when I was too close to him?

"Come on! Put your backs into it, you lazy dogs! Stroke! You're not even trying! Stroke!" he commanded. At that moment, I would have gladly knocked him into the dark gray ocean, if he was going to keep yelling at us like that. I had never liked being ordered around so much. Call it my wild side emerging from inside of me.

"How fun is this, right? We got the team back together, a new ally, another adventure. This is pretty cool, huh?" Hiccup said, trying to lift our spirits. Snotlout behind us grunted with the exertion of moving a giant oar.

"Yeah, nothing cooler than rowing until your hands bleed," he replied. I rolled my eyes. Sometimes, I would see these guys and wonder, 'How did I ever become friends with them?' And then I remember that it was only because of Hiccup. Still, I'm glad they're my buddies. No one should ever be alone in this harsh world, and if they are, then someone needs to step up and be with them. Maybe then it wouldn't be as terrible. Maybe then I would have liked- no, I would have never liked Blackstone. It just hadn't been the place for me. Here was where I belonged, with dragons and people I could at least tolerate. And Hiccup.

"I just want you kids to know that it touches my heart, you helping me slay the Boneknapper. True Vikings, you are. And Addie, of course," he said, giving me a sly wink. I rolled my eyes. Maybe if I had grown up as a normal girl, Gobber would have been that crazy uncle that I would have adored. But I hadn't, so there was no use wishing for it. Besides, he could still be the crazy uncle I always wanted, just not for a little girl.

"Gobber, are we there yet?" Ruff complained. Ah, the most prevalent question in the history of travel. If someone doesn't ask it on your trip, then you're doing something wrong.

"Oh, you'll know we're close when your ears explode from the piercing screams. Legend says this dragon's roar is so fierce, it can melt the flesh right off your bones!" Fishlegs said dramatically. I furrowed my brow at that. Sounded kind of like Frostwave. Only hers didn't melt your flesh – it scared you half to death, and sometimes all the way to death. I guess the end result would be the same either way.

"Not so, Fishlegs. The Boneknapper has no roar at all. That's why he's terrifying. He's a silent killer," Gobber replied knowingly. I sighed. Great. So no one even knew which was really true. And by the time we figured it out, we'd all probably be dead. And I don't think Frostwave would like that. Or me. Yeah, definitely not me.

"Gee, that's comforting," I muttered. Hiccup nodded in agreement.

"Wait, so if we don't hear anything... we're dead?" the female twin said worriedly. We all leaned in toward the center instinctively, our ears strained to the max to hear any sign of the dread beast. Tense moments passed, but all I could hear was the sound of waves and wind in the strange mist around us.

"I don't hear anything," Tuff whispered, fear creeping into his voice. Did that make us dead? I hoped not. I rather liked being alive. You could do so much when you were alive, like flying on a dragon, or eating tasty food, or both at once! The options were nearly limitless.

"BAAA!" Phil bleated from the back. We all screamed in surprise, even Snotlout and Astrid. I didn't blame them. That had startled me, and my heart was still pounding. Oh, I couldn't take much more of this. That's it. I'm increasing my dragon nip flower tea intake. Sure, it wouldn't help if a dragon smelled my breath and started following me around, but at least I'd be calmer.

Gobber chuckled, and I shot a glare at him. He just laughed harder.

"Good one, Phil," he said, then sighed contentedly.

"Did I ever tell you about the first time I met the dreaded Boneknapper?"

Gobber, narrating

'I was a young lad, about your age, on summer vacation with my family, when I heard the call of nature.'

_A much, _much_ younger version of Gobber, minus the mustache and with all limbs intact, sits in the back of a boat. In front of him are his mother, sunning herself with a shield, and his father, controlling the ship as it floats through an ice field. Suddenly, he clenches his legs together in the classic position of holding it in (you know the one)._

_"__Dad, pull the boat over!" he shouted, jumping out onto the ice and running off._

_"__Didn't I tell ya to go before we left?" his father shouted back. But Gobber was already too far away to hear._

_After taking care of his business, he grabs his axe and is just about to return when he sees it. It is obvious he is amazed at the sight._

'I saw an army of Vikings, frozen in battle. Clutched in the fingers of one of the Vikings was a small treasure chest... I had to have it.'

_Young Gobber plants a hand on the ice prospectively, then hefts his axe up and swings it. It flies true and breaks the ice open where the golden treasure is stuck._

'I reached in and pulled out the chest...'

_Young Gobber does exactly this. Light pours forth from the opening._

'It was the most beautiful thing I ever saw.'

_His eyes widen with awe..._

'But the frozen Viking was still alive! He started punching me in the face!'

_The trapped Viking, still very much alive, does indeed begin hitting young Gobber with his fist, and on one of the final tries manages to knock out a tooth (the very same one replaced with a chunk of metal)._

_"__Oh, my tooth!" young Gobber exclaims, pulling out his lip to see the damage. The attacking Viking stops and starts trying to shout at him, pointing and waving with his free arm behind the defending Viking. He turns uneasily..._

'And there it was... I never even heard it coming... the Boneknapper!'

_The Boneknapper flies through the air silently, not even the barest hint of a roar escaping from its bony jaws. It dives for Gobber, but he manages to dodge out of the way._

'It crashed into the glacier, causing an avalanche of frozen Vikings!'

_All around Gobber, ice cubes with Vikings in the middle cascade around him, and he runs just ahead of the Vik-alanche. The Boneknapper recovers and tries to take the treasure away from him, but he trips, and it skids across the ice and into the icy sea._

_"__The treasure!" he shouts in despair, then runs to the edge of the ice._

'I reached into the water...'

_Young Gobber does this and pulls out the box securely. But he has an unexpected guest._

'Only to find the frozen Viking punching me in the face again!'

_With each blow, he becomes more and more disoriented, shouting "Hey" every time. After the fourth blow, the Boneknapper lands on the ice, causing it to flip up and form a mountain of frozen Vikings. The treasure is sent flying into the air as well, and Gobber runs up the mound to grab it. But at the same time, the talons of the dragon clutch it and carry both it and him away._

'The Boneknapper wanted that treasure... but I wanted it more!'

_Gobber manages to wrench it free from the dragon, goes through a crack in the ice as the Boneknapper hits the berg, and slides up a curving ramp made of ice. It sends him flying through the air and into the back of the boat, where his parents are waiting._

_"__What took you so long?" his father asks. Gobber looks down at the small chest in his hands and hides it behind his back, grinning and giggling nervously._

Adeline's POV

"You expect us to believe that a frozen Viking punched you in the face?" Snotlout asked derisively. I looked at the ocean thoughtfully.

"Yeah, twice," Gobber replied, holding up two fingers.

"Hey, it could happen," Hiccup said, trying to back up the blacksmith. When the others didn't seem convinced, he turned to me.

"Addie? What do you think?" I shrugged.

"I've heard crazier during the Cajah Hekrdc uv Fiends. Remind me to tell you guys about that two summers from now. But yeah, it could have happened," I agreed casually.

"What do you mean, "it could happen"? It did! But I outsmarted the silent beast," Gobber said

"Um, Gobber, I hate to be a stickler for details, but... Boneknappers are not silent," Fishlegs said

"Fishlegs, I know what I didn't hear. But, I could feel it..." the older man replied, looking around to prove him point.

"Uh, guys? Are there supposed to be...?" Fishlegs asked, fear coloring his voice. But maybe I was the only one to notice. The others were all listening to Gobber.

"I had a sixth sense for danger. I can smell anything..." he continued, pointing at his nose. I snorted at that. Somehow, I doubted a human could actually smell danger. Dragon, yes. Human, no.

"I really think we're gonna hit these..." Fishlegs said, his voice getting a little higher.

"...I could taste the oncoming doom!"

CRASH!

I was sent flying forward by the force of our impact. Thankfully, the oar kept me from being knocked off of the ship, which was now at a very bad angle for a ship. Unfortunately, my stomach had rammed up against it, and now it hurt. A lot.

"Whoa..." Tuffnut murmured in awe. I held my belly and looked around. Jagged spires of rocks surrounded us, jutting out of the sea like the teeth of some ginormous monster.

'Does that make us its next meal?' I thought grimly.

"Um, I'm tasting rocks," Astrid said, looking over her side. I nodded. Looks like Gobber's "sixth sense" hadn't really kicked in. Speaking of our favorite blacksmith, he stood up from the front and walked over to the side of the ship.

"Ah, we're here," he said darkly.

Getting all the supplies off a boat that could sink at any moment was... fun.

Getting to dry land was... less fun. It's a very good thing I knew how to swim, because otherwise I would have had to use a plank or something to stay afloat. As it was, we managed to get everything and everyone to the nearby island without much incident (although the Twins did try to drown each other, twice).

We all watched the ship as it slid into the deep, leaving only a trail of bubbles and a few pieces of hull behind to mark its passing.

"Ugh. Now we're stuck in the middle of nowhere, and no one even knows where we are!" she complained loudly. I sighed. So far, this whole trip had gone downhill, metaphorically speaking. I still didn't see why we couldn't have just taken the dragons, but I guess the Boneknapper would have been scared away by their presence. That would have made hunting it down just a bit harder than before.

"Except the Boneknapper. Legend says..." Fishlegs began worriedly, but Snotlout cut him off quickly.

"Hey, you know what legend also says? Stop talking!" he shouted.

"Okay, just hold on one darn second..." Fishlegs said, this time getting angry.

"No need to panic, kids. I've been shipwrecked many times!" Gobber said, taking a seat on a rock a short distance away.

"Oh, well that's... comforting," Hiccup said sarcastically. I nodded, my mouth a narrow line. Here we were, trapped on some uncharted island with only other teens and an adult that was the target of the creepiest dragon I'd ever heard of, and that same adult had several shipwrecks under his belt.

"_Very_ comforting," I agreed, folding my arms across my chest.

Gobber began sharpening his hook with a rock and stared off into space.

"You never forget your first shipwreck..." he began dreamily. Hoo boy. Here we go again.

Gobber, narrating

_A slightly older version of Gobber stands on an island, a metal tooth, a small beard, and a longer mustache the only sign he had grown older. Mist surrounds him._

'I was stranded on an island, with only my broom. It was a very small island. It's no wonder the Boneknapper found me again. He never forgave me for taking that treasure.'

_Not-as-young Gobber sighs when he sees his broom. The island was indeed small, barely enough to hold him and a palm tree (__**A.N. Where he found a tropical island, I have no clue. Maybe he was sailing to America and ended up in the Caribbean. Hey, that could be a movie! Gobber in the Caribbean! Starring Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, and Craig Ferguson. Okay, I'll stop now**__)._

_The Boneknapper appears from behind a cloud and swoops down, taking off most of the palm tree and clearing the mist. Gobber sees that his tree is gone and glares after it, only to see something that had previously been hidden by the clouds._

'There was another island. My only escape. But I was surrounded by bloodthirsty hammerhead sharks!'

_It is a larger island, with a few more palm trees than his own. Hundreds of sharks look up from the water at him and bare their teeth in shark-y snarls. The Boneknapper is starting to turn around for another pass._

'I only had one chance. So I ran across the shark-infested waters.'

_Youngish Gobber starts dashing across the water, using the sharks as stepping stones and beating back any that try to attack. The accursed dragon is swooping down by this point._

_"__Take that! Watch it! Nighty night, fatty!" he shouts, using some sharks to attack others. One jumps out of the water at him, but he stops it by brushing its teeth._

_"__Someone forgot to brush!" he taunts. The teeth sparkle before he hits it down._

'I didn't think I was going to make it.'

_The Boneknapper nearly has him in its talons._

'But then, from the depths of the ocean leapt forth... a giant hammerhead whale!'

_The entire scene pauses with Gobber in front, the dragon right behind, and the whale about to eat the dragon._

Adeline's POV

By now, the story had gotten interesting, even though I had never heard of something like a hammerhead whale. We were all silent, until Fishlegs broke it.

"Whoa! So the hammerhead whale ate the Boneknapper?" he asked eagerly. I looked from him to Gobber.

"Almost, but he got away! Years later, the dragon hunted me down again and chased me into the jungle," he replied, his eyes going misty at this other remembrance.

Gobber, narrating

'All I had was my trusty eggbeater.'

_Another younger version of Gobber is running through a bamboo thicket, with his trusty eggbeater on his left arm. The pounding feet of the skeletal Boneknapper drive him on._

'I carved through that thick brush as fast as a jungle cat. Still, the Boneknapper was right behind!'

_Gobber cuts down a wall of bamboo with three quick swipes of his eggbeater and stops to sniff some pretty pink flowers._

_"__Ah, azaleas!" he says, holding up one blossom to his nose. He sees the dragon chasing him and runs away. The Boneknapper crushes the flower bush without even a drop of remorse. It was fixated on its target: Gobber._

'I ran up the side of a volcano and courageously leapt across the fiery crater.'

_Gobber somehow defies the laws of space and time and quickly runs up an almost vertical slope, then jumps across the pit of bubbling lava, going farther than humanly possible. The Boneknapper almost has him..._

'Then, deep within the burning volcano burst forth a giant hammerhead yak!'

_The scene pauses with the yak about to grab the Boneknapper._

Adeline's POV (again)

"Okay, wait a minute. Now you're saying a giant hammerhead yak leapt out of the fiery volcano and ate the Bonekapper?" Tuffnut asked skeptically. I shook my head. Okay, this was going beyond the crazy stories of some of the pirates. I had heard more sane tales from Crazy Kate, a certifiably insane woman in the House of Waters that frequently drank too much fiend-gemman and liked to eat cabbage raw. But she was also one of the most creative hunters on Blackstone, and usually brought in twice as much game as the others.

"You would've thought so, wouldn't you? But the dragon got away again! I knew the boney scoundrel would keep coming after me...

Gobber, doing his thing with the story

'So, I set up a gauntlet of traps, and waited for the beast.'

_A slightly younger version of Gobber than the current man sets up giant bear traps, a mine or something similar, and sits on a stool. His left arm is now a guitar (though where he got it, I have no idea), and his right hand begins playing a stirring, challenging song._

'And when he was ready... he charged!'

_The Boneknapper flies down from the clouds and begins rushing Gobber._

'And then I ran like the wind!'

_Gobber jumps up from his seat and runs past the traps, the dragon hot on his trail. It manages to dodge the snapping bear traps, and the mine didn't go off._

'But the traps failed!'

_Gobber is cornered at a cliff, and the Boneknapper traps him under a foot. It leers down at him._

'Then, captured, I did what any brave Viking would do...'

_"__Help!" (__**A.N. Hey, that's what I'd do, if I was about to be eaten by a skeleton dragon. At least I don't have to worry about that. Yet.**__)_

_The clouds part above them, light shining through._

'The Gods must've heard my prayers. It was Thor!'

_Gobber's eyes widen with admiration at the sight of the powerful god. Sadly, he was nothing like the Thor of the Marvel movies, and instead had overly proportioned muscles, no shirt, and a horned helmet._

'He tossed a mighty thunderbolt.'

_Thor did, and it didn't go anywhere near the Boneknapper. Instead, it creates a huge, molten crater at the base of the cliff, smoke feathering up delicately._

_"__Aw, you missed," Gobber complains._

_"__Wait for it..." Thor replied, holding up a finger to emphasize the command._

'Then, from the center of the earth blasted forth...'

_The ground starts trembling, perhaps with fear of the might creatures rising up._

'The hammerhead yak riding the hammerhead whale!'

_The strange animals launch from the crater, the yak slapping the side of the whale._

_"__Deploy the yak," he says gruffly. The whale fires him using its blowhole, and he lands on the cliff. It begins punching the Boneknapper, knocking out a tooth. Gobber has just enough time to stumble a good distance away from the edge before the whale falls from the sky and eats the dragon. The yak gets on, and as that portion of the cliff falls away, the whale and yak look back at him on the edge. The whale somehow defies the laws of physics (again) and salutes him, moving its fin to its head and away just as quickly._

_Gobber salutes in reply, wipes a tear from his eye, and stands up._

_"__Yes!" There is a crack, and he hunches over, one hand to his back._

_"__Oh, my back!" he shouts in pain._

Adeline's POV

"Whoa... the whale saluted you?" Fishlegs asked. I didn't really blame him. Gobber could really tell a story, almost as well as I could.

"Can you believe it? But the Boneknapper got away again! He found me on Berk-" Gobber started to tell another tale.

"Are you kidding? I don't believe any of this," Snotlout interrupted before he could get too far.

"Yeah, you totally made everything up!" Tuff added.

"Come on, Gobber, it's time to get out of here!" Ruff said severely.

"We need to get home!" Snotlout agreed.

Boy, things weren't looking good right now. If things got too violent, I might have to step in.

"You don't even have any proof that that thing exists!" Tuffnut claimed. What came next surprised me.

"Of course I have proof. I still have the treasure. This stunning belt buckle," he replied, lifting the edge of his tunic to show us all a buckle shaped like a T.

"It was in the Viking's treasure chest. It's kept my pants up for years." I knelt down and looked at it carefully.

"Looks like bone," I muttered thoughtfully. Wait... bone... bone... why wasn't my head working right now? The fact it was made of bone meant something important, I just knew it!

"It is stunning," Fishlegs allowed. Astrid punched Hiccup's arm, and I winced. She scared me, I'm not afraid to say. I wasn't entirely sure what she'd do to me if she found out I was interested in Hiccup, but I can assume it wouldn't be good. And seeing as she wasn't afraid to use brute force, I would be staying out of arm's reach of Astrid until I was sure she wouldn't kill me.

"Um... listen, Gobber. Instead of chasing down an imaginary dragon, maybe we should figure out how to get home?" Hiccup said, waving his hands around in his usual Hiccup way.

"Say no more, I hear ya loud and clear. I've got a plan. Alright, who'd like to be dragon bait?" he replied calmly, pointing at the middle of our group. Which meant he was looking at Fishlegs and Phil, and the sheep didn't seem to want to be chosen. It inched away from the poor guy, leaving him to stare at us all in terror.

_A few minutes later..._

Fishlegs was now "Gobber", with a hook in his left hand, an imitation of Gobber's helmet, and a mustache made of rope, and he was standing in a field of bone with a giant rib cage suspended above him. I shuddered to think just what sort of animal was big enough to need that, and then decided to stop picturing it. Given my luck, it would turn out to be some angry, humongous dragon that still haunted this place. Now, I'm not saying ghosts are real, but some places just give me a very, very bad feeling. This was one of those places.

"Um, Gobber, are you sure this is safe?" Fishlegs called to him. He was surveying his work, holding up a thumb like an artist.

"Ah, safety's overrated. Okay, here's the plan," he began softly, kneeling down in front of us all.

"The Boneknapper wants me, right? He comes down that trail, sees Fishlegs, thinks it's me, rushes Fishlegs (at this, the boy squeaked), causing Phil to trip that rope, dropping that rib cage, and then we rush in to finish him off once and for all!" he finished triumphantly. I stared at him in silence.

"It's sad when they get old," Snotlout muttered to the twins. Hey, Gobber wasn't old! He was just... aged. Like cheese. Hey, he even had the smell to match that analogy. I looked at Hiccup, and he must have understood it. This was way too much for just one dragon hunting expedition.

"Gobber, you're taking this way too far, okay? You need to face it. There is no such thing as the Boneknapper!" Hiccup said, trying his best to convince the stubborn old goat.

"Wormsquat! Now, get into position. Way to go, Fishlegs, you're doing fine!" he shouted to the poor Viking boy. I pitied him then, but not enough to trade places with him. He made a far more convincing Gobber than I ever would.

"No wonder the entire village thinks you're crazy," Hiccup muttered. I shook my head sadly.

"I've heard a lot of crazy things, but this takes the seed cake," I replied quietly.

"Hello? He sees dead Vikings!" Snotlout shot back.

"Yeah, especially that thing about the hammerhead yak..." Tuffnut added. I lifted my head to see Fishlegs had paled a lot more than usual.

"Um, guys...?" he said, trying to get our attention. That was when the prickling feeling on the back of my neck started up. Uh oh.

"This is a complete waste of time," Astrid grumbled. Normally, I would have agreed with her grudgingly, but something about Fishlegs and my neck made me think Gobber might have been onto something.

"Guys, hello?! Turn around! Guys! GUYS!" Fishlegs shouted in terror.

"WHAT?!" the others shouted back. I was just bracing myself for what I knew was coming. Oh, gods. This was how I would die, wasn't it?

There was a rattling noise behind us. Yeah, bad feeling justified.

"It's right behind us, isn't it?" Hiccup asked wearily. We all turned around slowly to see one of the biggest dragons ever looming over us. It was indeed coated in bones, but the skin not hidden was a pale, dead color. Its eyes glittered a malevolent green. It opened its mouth to roar, and...

…nothing. The only thing that came out was a squeak.

"Well, what do you know? No roar," Fishlegs said thoughtfully.

"Uh, hi there," I said, waving. It glared down at us balefully and got ready to attack.

"RUN!" Gobber shouted. For once, I wasn't tempted to disobey. We barely managed to get out of the way before it snapped at us, mostly Gobber. I ran faster than I thought I could, stumbling over the bones that littered the area. Well, it was probably the nest of this guy, and we were invading his home. No wonder he was upset.

"Okay, Gobber, we believe you!" Astrid yelled. I didn't even bother agreeing with her. Survival was more important than communicating our regrets.

I think we could have made it, if not for the Boneknapper sweeping its tail across the ground and sending a shockwave of bone and dust toward us. We were all pushed into the same trap as Fishlegs, and that was when Phil decided to disconnect the rope that held up the cage. It dropped, effectively making us easy pickings.

"Phil!" Gobber yelled reproachfully. I sighed and looked behind us at the approaching dragon.

"When this is all over, I'm eating that sheep," I swore softly. But that would have to wait until we either died, or managed to get away.

When it finally caught up to us, it resorted to a very common dragon fallback: fire. I could hear it breathe in, see the glow in the back of its throat, and we managed to take shelter behind some ribs before the flames came bursting out. At this rate, it would be its fire and not its roar that melted the flesh from our bones. I was sweating like crazy. I looked over at Snotlout and smirked.

"Find a happy place, find a happy place..." he muttered, scared beyond all rational thought. Looks like the tough guy wasn't so tough now, huh? But I was acting the same, so I couldn't really blame him. I had hoped I might go of old age, or perhaps "accidental" poisoning on Blackstone, not being killed by an angry dragon.

"Hey! Stop trying to kill us!" I shouted at it, angry and terrified and just a little bit hysterical. For a moment, it actually did stop to turn a confused look on me, but the screams of the others distracted it. What was that? Did it... had the Boneknapper actually listened to me? Well, it certainly wasn't anymore.

The dragon did its best to get into our cage, climbing on top, battering the ribs, and basically trying to break in. The others weren't much help right now, but I managed to make my way over to Hiccup, Astrid, and Gobber.

"No, no, no, please... please. He wants my head. I swear he wants my head!" Fishlegs yelped, while Gobber challenged it with, "Bring it on! You wait til I get out there and I'll show you!" Hiccup seemed to have an epiphany while he was watching it warily.

"Wait. It searches for the perfect bone to build its coat of armor. The treasure! Gobber, take off your pants!" he shouted at the man.

"Huh?" he asked in confusion.

"NO!" the others shouted.

"Hiccup, are you crazy?" I asked him, putting my hands on his shoulders. "Did that fall knock something loose in there? Because I'll put up with a lot of things, but crazy is a bit much." He pushed off my hands and looked at all of us very seriously.

"Wait, listen to me. I think Fishlegs was right. The Boneknapper is supposed to have a roar," he explained, motioning to his throat with one hand, "But maybe he can't because the bone he needs is your belt buckle." I looked at the dragon and saw an empty spot on its chest that matched the shape of the buckle.

"Gobber, please, you have to give it back," I begged him. He shook his head mulishly. While we were talking, the Boneknapper had managed to take out one of the ribs, right next to our little group.

"No way, it's mine."

Snap!

The Boneknapper had reached in and grabbed his (thankfully) wooden leg.

"Uh oh."

He was yanked out painfully, and the dragon started swinging him through the air like some sort of human chew toy (hey, Frostwave had needed one at one point. I lost one of my boots to her before I managed to find a log she wouldn't bite to splinters in one day). I winced at the sight, and yet I couldn't look away. It was morbidly fascinating. Maybe that was why we had all gathered at this side of the ribs to watch.

"Give him back his bone!" Hiccup shouted.

"NOOO!" Gobber replied, as stubborn as ever. It takes a lot more than that to stop Hiccup, though. I should know. When he got into my kit and started taking things out, I had to physically force him to the ground and pull him away. The guy's as stubborn as I am. Maybe that's why I like him. And being able to tame dragons is also pretty awesome.

"GIVE HIM BACK HIS BONE!" he tried again, louder this time.

"NOOOOO!" Okay, that's it. Time to take the gloves off and step in.

"Gobber, I will make you a new one when we get home! Just GIVE HIM BACK THE DAMN BONE!" I shrieked. That startled the Boneknapper so much, it let go of him while he was going up, and he was flung into the air.

"Noooo... oh, alright," he finally gave in, tearing it from his belt and throwing it. It flew with supernatural accuracy through the air and into the void on the Boneknapper, where it joined with a golden flash of light from the cracks. The dragon stopped and shook its chest, testing the feeling. Almost at the same time, Gobber landed in a heap of bones with a terrible crack.

"Gobber!" Hiccup and I shouted. I sighed in relief when I saw him stand up shakily. But it was not to be all fun and games from now on. The Boneknapper decided to test out its new roar, and it was almost as bad as Frostwave. The screech made us all cover our ears, though Gobber was trying to hold up his pants at the same time. When it stopped, it stepped toward Gobber and eyed him inscrutably.

"Alright, you've got me. Make it fast," he said in defeat. Instead of biting his head off, the dragon growled affectionately and rubbed its head against him, just like Frostwave or Toothless would. Its nudges made his pants fall down, and I turned a very sickly shade of green. I'm not even gonna describe what it looked like, that's how bad it was. The others all started retching or looking just as disgusted as I felt.

"That's gonna give me nightmares," Hiccup said, covering his eyes. I nodded, then regretted that immediately, Normally, I have a very sound stomach, but that was just too much.

"For a month," I added. The others all nodded, then we turned back to look at the new friends.

"Well, at least we have a ride home," Astrid said, trying her best to put a good spin on this.

"There is that," I replied, trying to focus on the dragon, not Gobber.

"Aren't you cute? Yes, you are. Yes, you are!" he cooed, scratching it under the chin. It wagged its tail like a dog, revealing a club made of interlocking bones.

Now that the dragon was friendly, I was able to get up close and examine him.

"Wow... you're beautiful," I murmured, looking at how carefully each bone fit together. To think that there was a dragon out there that could actually make its own armor from the remains of others and still move quickly was incredible.

"I think Addie has a new boyfriend," Snotlout muttered to the twins, just loudly enough for me to hear. I ignored him. You know, once a dragon isn't trying to kill me, I can really appreciate just how amazing it is, and I'm not gonna let some jerk like him ruin it for me.

"C'mon, I can't wait to get back to Berk to write this in the Book of Dragons," Hiccup said eagerly. Before I could protest, he climbed up behind Gobber, who was behind Phil on the Boneknapper's head, and he pulled me up behind him. I tentatively put my arms around his waist. It wasn't hard to guess that the malevolent aura behind me was Astrid seething about how close Hiccup and I were. Well, she would just have to deal with it. I was going to enjoy the rest of this trip, whether she liked it or not.

_A few minutes later..._

Thankfully, Astrid hadn't tried to strangle me from her position behind me, so I was in a pretty good mood. No one had fallen off (yet), I was sitting behind the boy I liked, and all seemed right with the world.

"You know, I never doubted him. I was always like: 'He's right,'" Snotlout said to Fishlegs behind us. I rolled my eyes. Yeah, right. Just keep yapping, Snotlout.

"His tailbone is hurting _my_ tailbone!" Tuffnut groaned.

The dragon just kept roaring cheerfully.

"He sure seems happy to have that bone back," Hiccup said to Gobber.

"Well, legend says that the Boneknapper's roar is its mating call," Fishlegs supplied helpfully. Hoo boy. Little baby Boneknappers, flying in!

"Oh, that's just a myth," Gobber scoffed.

"That's what they said about him, and look what we're riding," I replied, patting the back of the dragon. He growled happily, and for a moment I thought I was hearing an echo. But wait, that couldn't have been an echo. We were in the open air.

We all turned to see four more Boneknappers had joined us, flying in a V formation behind us.

"Uh oh!" Gobber said in surprise. Phil bleated again, and I turned back to see Berk was approaching fast.

"I think Stoick will believe me now, eh?" he cackled with amusement. I chuckled, too, then rested my chin on Hiccup's shoulder. He didn't say anything, but I sighed.

"Hey, Hiccup, thank you," I said quietly. He turned his head slightly.

"For what?" he asked curiously.

"For thinking about the dragon's side of the story. If you hadn't, we might all be dragon meat," I replied bluntly. Hiccup muttered something under his breath, but thanks to the wind, I couldn't really hear him.

"What was that?" I asked, holding a hand to my ear. He shook his head.

"It's nothing. Just think how surprised Frostwave and Toothless are gonna be when they see us riding a Boneknapper," he said smilingly. I grinned back at him.

"Well, I think Frostwave already knew that Boneknappers exist. I just don't think she realized we would be coming back with five," I replied, looking at the island that seemed so small from this distance, but was actually quite big. It was my home now, and like any home, it had its ups and downs. But I would be alright. With Frostwave by my side, I could handle anything, even the battle to win Hiccup's heart. No one was going to hurt me now.

**Author's Notes: No translations for us, just good old fashioned talking. Does anybody even read this anymore? If you do, type your favorite How To Train Your Dragon character (or dragon species) into the review box when (and if) you review. But ah, the fun is just beginning.**

**MMM – Addie and Astrid are not going to have a very happy relationship for a while. It's gonna take a lot of dragon nip, chicken, and battleaxes to mend those bridges. But don't worry. Eventually they will be, if not good friends, at least civil ones. And really, isn't that enough? As to your first question, I'm not sure what you mean by "creature", but I'm assuming it is the dark lady from the end of the last chapter. As you could tell from Addie's dream earlier, her name is Lady Deorca. I got her name from the Old English word "deorc", which is the root of the Contemporary English word "dark". See? You learn something new every day! Anyways, she will be a very important character later, and is the link between... well, I won't get into that now, but you'll understand eventually.**

**There will be romance! There will be drama! There will be comedy! And there will be dragons! What more can you ask for in a story? Besides character growth, I mean.**

**Now review! That is a suggestion! Hey, I don't have nearly enough authority to be giving you people orders. Not yet, anyway... * evil laughter starts reverberating through * Ahem. Sorry about that.**

**Wild Cat 214, out!**


	13. Chapter 12: The Snoggletog Spirit

"_She's got eyes of the bluest sky that if they thought of rain,_

_I'd hate to look into those eyes and see an ounce of pain._

_Her hair reminds me of a warm safe place where as a child I'd hide_

_And pray for the thunder and the rain to quiet and pass me by."_

_-Guns N' Roses, "Sweet Child O' Mine"_

* * *

**A thousand apologies, O Patient Ones! (Yeah, I use lines from other movies. So sue me.)**

**Author's Notes: Hey, everyone! Sorry this update is so late. I was having technical difficulties (aka my laptop decided to be an a-hole for the past several weeks, and I've had to work on my tablet) but right now, I'm good! Anyways, it's the first chapter of 2016! YAY! Woman has triumphed over machine! You see, I found OpenOffice Writer on my family's computer, which means I can write it there, transfer it to a hard drive (since the computer isn't connected to the Internet), and take it somewhere that has Internet! Joy of joys!**

**Okay, people, we're gonna have a little bit of fluff, some good ol' holiday fun, and a bit of foreshadowing. By the way, I was originally planning on posting this some time around New Year's Eve, but as you can see, that didn't happen. Darn it! I wanted to share with you the holiday love! For those of you wondering, I'm putting this before I start Riders because of some basic Fishlegs-Meatlug stuff. In Riders, he knows Meatlug is a girl. However, in Gift of the Night Fury, he only finds out when they find the eggs. That means I needed to put this first, or else it would drive me crazy. But soon I will get to Riders! Soon!**

**LE3 101 – Thanks! I try my best.**

**MMM – You'll see ;) Astrid will talk to him in due time. Also, I wasn't intending to make you wait this long, but I was going to make you wait. I'm evil that way :3**

**taco tiger – Thank ye kindly! Judging by the number of people that have looked at it so far, and the people that have favorited and followed it, I'll agree with your statement.**

**Phantomwa1ker – It's nice to know you're still reading the AN's, and that you love this story, too. Skrills are pretty awesome, aren't they? That would be the dragon I'd want to ride, if I were in this universe. Why? 'Cause lightning is INCREDIBLE!**

**I'm sorry for updating without a new chapter. I just wanted to get rid of the "apology" chapter, but it's nice to know you weren't the only one looking forward to this chapter.**

**MMM (again) – Well, judging by the title of this chapter, I'd say so. And seeing as this is Hiccup and Addie's story, I think they'll be there. As for what's coming next, you'll just have to read :3**

**Undifindable – I have not seen your name in the reviews before, so welcome! As you can see, I'm doing my best to oblige your desire for more chapters, and I'll keep your suggestions in mind ;) But I don't know how much fluff I can give you beyond what I have planned in this chapter. Well... heh, heh, heh. Just you wait and see.**

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**Disclaimer: Alas, thou shalt never see my name upon the How To Train Your Dragon franchise. Only mine original characters are graced with mine appellation.**

* * *

_Time passes..._

Hiccup, narrating

This is Berk, boasting the kind of balmy, fun-in-the-sun climate that will give you frostbite on your spleen. The one upside is our annual holiday. We call it Snoggletog. Why we chose such a stupid name remains a mystery. But with the war long over, dragons living amongst us, and Addie and Frostwave here, this year's Snoggletog promises to be one to remember.

Adeline's POV

I woke up to hear banging on the roof of the house. Stoick had decided to situate me in the guest room on the ground floor, probably because he wanted a way to keep an eye on me without having to keep someone with me at all times, but it wasn't that bad. I got to see Toothless and Hiccup on a regular basis, and it was definitely better than sleeping in a cell. Besides, I had gotten used to Toothless waking Hiccup up that way. Of course, that didn't mean I had to like it.

"What do you people have against a good night's sleep?" I shouted to no one in particular. Winter meant sleeping in, not being woken at ungodly hours by antsy dragons. It also meant something else, something that twitched at the back of my mind, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Oh well. Time to remember later. Like after another hour of sleep.

"_Are you still tired, Addie? I will not understand you humans,_" Frostwave crooned hopelessly. I glared at her and pulled the blanket over the rest of me, making the hammock swing slightly.

"I just don't understand why some people think getting up at five in the morning on a winter day is a good idea," I answered grumpily, my voice muffled by the thick wool. At least I got a blanket here. On Blackstone, healers slept in hammocks while their patients got the beds and covers.

I heard Hiccup's footsteps above me and on the stairs, and peeked out a bit. I guess he was going flying with Toothless today, before coming back to help with the preparations for this... Snoggletog thing. Before that, I had to ask him something. Like, what in Thor's name was Snoggletog? I managed to sit up and looked at Frostwave. She had a smug look on her face as she looked back at me.

"**What are you looking at?**" I asked her. She huffed a cloud of mist into my face.

"_Go, Addie. I will not blame you,_" my dragon hummed with amusement. I took some of the ice that had formed in my hair and threw it at her face playfully.

"Oh, shut up."

I got out of the hammock effortlessly and went out the door. Hiccup had nearly left by the time I arrived in the living room.

"Wait, Hiccup! I have a few questions for you!" I shouted just before the door swung shut. I waited a few minutes, standing there awkwardly, until it reopened to reveal Hiccup looking at me curiously. He had his helmet on, which was interesting. Usually he didn't go out with it on.

"What is it, Addie?" he asked. I sighed and walked out to join him.

"Okay, first of all, what in the world is Snoggletog?" I said bluntly. He raised an eyebrow, but answered my question.

"Well, it's the annual winter holiday on Berk. Right now, we're preparing for the actual holiday, which is in a week. How about you? Did Blackstone do anything like this?" he asked as we walked down the stairs. I shrugged.

"Kind of. We had the Vaycd uv Ynnejym, the Feast of Arrival, and it celebrates the day the vunapaync arrived on the island. It should be in about a week. There's usually a big feast, and the different Households exchange gifts with each other," I replied casually. That made the feeling I was forgetting something stronger. Gods, what was it? We stopped at the bottom of the stairs, sitting down on the last two to continue our conversation.

"That sounds interesting. Did you like it?" Hiccup said, looking at me. I grimaced.

"Well, it definitely wasn't the worst celebration on Blackstone. I think that's reserved for Initiation," my answer came out bitterly. He put an arm around me.

"Hey, don't worry. Snoggletog isn't as bad as that, I think," he said comfortingly. I smiled at him. Hiccup was the sweetest guy here. Fishlegs was a close second, but he was a bit too close to his dragon for my liking.

"No, it's a lot better than Initiation. Speaking of which, why is it called Snoggletog? That is the most incredibly idiotic name I've ever heard, and I've heard some pretty crazy things," I asked him. Hiccup pulled back his arm and flung them out.

"I have no idea!" he declared. I chuckled at that, and that's when the banging began again. I winced and looked behind us and up. Toothless apparently thought Hiccup was still asleep. We stood up, and Hiccup went around the house.

"Well, good morning, Mr. Bossy!" he said to the Night Fury. The dragon laughed at him, and the human mimicked him.

"Do you always have to wake me up so early to go flying-?" he began, but his left foot – the metal one – slipped on some ice and he nearly fell on his back. Thankfully, Toothless was faster than I was, and caught him with his head. I breathed out a sigh of relief and looked at them.

"You okay, Hiccup?" I asked, joining them. He stood up and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Stupid leg," he said, kicking the snow. I smirked, but didn't say anything. He stumbled a bit, but managed to not fall again.

"Thanks, buddy. I'm okay," Hiccup said to the Night Fury. Toothless seemed pleased and gave him an expectant look. Hiccup went closer and put a hand to his dragon's head.

"Yeah, we can go flying now." Right after he finished, the dragon burped into his face, and he pulled back with a look of disgust. I was barely holding in my laughter.

"Eww, eww, what? Eww! Argh! Toothless," he groaned. His dragon bumped his head against his rider's arm innocently. That did it. I burst out laughing at the sight, wrapping my arms around my stomach. My sides hurt from it, and I was nearly in tears.

"Having fun?" he asked dryly. I nodded. That was all I could do.

"Do you wanna go flying with us? Toothless doesn't mind, right, bud?" he offered, looking at the Night Fury. The look on the dragon's face was adorable, but I had to decline. I needed to think things out right now, and while I wanted to go flying with him, that would not have helped with the whole braining-thingy. Besides, I had to get some special things ready.

"Hiccup, I would love to, but I need to take care of a few things before I can even think of having fun. I know it's weird, but it's important to me," I replied apologetically. The disappointment on both their faces made my chest hurt, and I almost considered taking them up on the offer. But no, I had to finish up what I had planned before I could do anything fun.

"Well, we'll see you later. Let's go, bud," he said, climbing into Toothless' saddle. The two of them flew off, while internally I slapped myself. Stupid, stupid, stupid! I could have gone on the flight with them and been back in time to finish the gifts. But, oh well. Next time I wouldn't be so dumb.

Yeah, I was making gifts for everyone. It had taken me a while to figure out what to make each of my friends, but after a few weeks of thinking and learning about everyone, I had done it. What was I making? None of your business!

But they wouldn't get their presents until the Vaycd uv Ynnejym, and I had one more thing I needed to finish. Hiccup's present. For it, I would need a certain plant that grew in the forest. One tradition of Blackstone that wasn't all bad. One that I was glad to carry on.

* * *

When I got back from the forest with Frostwave, my special gift safely hidden under a cloth in my room, the entire village had gotten into the swing of things. They had put up a giant wooden tree in the main plaza and were decorating it with shields. Gobber was directing a woman on a Gronckle on where to place one thing that looked like it was made from an axe.

"Yes, yes... No, no, no! That one a wee bit higher!" he commanded, pointing at the spot he wanted.

"Here?" she asked, moving it up a bit.

"There! Ah, that's the spot!" he decided. Stoick walked up to see how it went, while I watched everything curiously. A kid in a dragon costume growled at Meatlug, and Meatlug roared back playfully. The kid giggled and ran off, the Gronckle right behind. Fishlegs saw this from on top of a ladder and smiled.

"Attaboy, Meatlug!" he said cheerfully. I grinned at this. Poor guy didn't even know his dragon was a girl. I hadn't even known until Frostwave pointed out the subtle differences in male and female dragons. Females are smaller and lighter, and males have longer horns. Usually.

Over by the "tree", I saw Astrid and Stormfly. The girl had some shields in her hands, and I realized she was going to put them on the tree.

"Are you ready, girl?" she asked the dragon. In response, her Nadder readied its spines. She threw the shields into the air, and Stormfly pinned them to the "tree". It was pretty impressive. Not that I'd ever tell her that. Some things you just don't say out loud to your rival.

I saw Stoick and Gobber walk by, and I decided to join them.

"By Odin's beard, Gobber, Vikings spending the winter holiday with dragons!" he exclaimed proudly. Gobber chuckled.

"Not to mention our resident ex-pirate, eh, Addie?" he added, winking at me. Gobber would always be my favorite adult here, even if he did have some... interesting ideas. He always had a joke ready, too.

"What would our fathers say?" the chief continued.

"They'd think we'd lost our minds!" the blacksmith answered. Stoick laughed deeply, and both Gobber and I smiled. Frostwave simply huffed out a cloud of smoke.

"_Is it really that strange? That is what the creator intended,_" she hummed bemusedly. I shrugged again.

"Frostwave, most of these people don't know the things you do. Assume that, and your life will be easier," I whispered back. She growled in acknowledgment and settled onto her haunches. We had stopped in front of most of the village, including the reptilian inhabitants.

"Well done! Well done, all of you! I never thought I'd live to see this day: peace on the island of Berk. This will surely be the greatest holiday we've ever seen," the chief said, making sure everyone in the crowd of Vikings and dragons could hear him. I nodded. Already, this looked a lot better than the Vaycd uv Ynnejym.

The entire village cheered, humans and dragons alike, and my smile widened. It was so nice to see all these people happy, out in the open with giant flying reptiles instead of in a huge cavern with people you barely tolerated. The Vaycd uv Ynnejym had always been a more solemn affair, even during the actual feast part of the celebration.

My happy thoughts were cut short by an eerie cry above us all. I looked up with the rest and gasped. It was a mass dragon exodus, huge flights soaring through the sky in the same direction.

"What the...?!" Stoick exclaimed. So I wasn't the only one seeing this. The good news was I wasn't hallucinating. The bad news was this was all too real. Dragons all over the village were starting to stiffen up, their pupils becoming slits, and join the wild dragons above us. Even Frostwave seemed to feel a sort of call, and I looked at her.

"Frostwave? What's going on?" I asked her, my voice a bit smaller than usual. Her pupils were as thin as paper when she looked at me.

"_I must go,_" was all she said before shooting up into the sky when Hookfang roared.

"What in Thor's name?!" Gobber said loudly, his accent getting a bit thicker. I saw Hookfang fly off, Snotlout crying out, "Come back! Where are you going?"

Fishlegs yelled his dragon's name while Astrid came up to me.

"Where's Hiccup?" she asked. The blood drained from my face, and I'm sure that didn't reassure her. The last time I saw him, he and Toothless were going flying. If Toothless decided to fly off with Hiccup on his back... there was no telling when I'd see him again. I was about to tell her that when Stormfly started acting like the other dragons and took off.

"No no no! Don't leave, Stormfly, don't go! Please?" her rider said, trying to grab onto her dragon. I wanted to help, but a part of me was reacting badly to this. It was like everything I cared about was leaving me again, for the second time. That was when I heard Hiccup's voice. I had never felt so relieved to hear him, even if it sounded confused and scared.

"Addie!" he shouted as he and Toothless landed, jumping off and running up to me. I looked at him worriedly, the flapping of massive wings making a buzz in the background. Nothing that was happening made sense to me. I may have spent three years with only a dragon for a companion, but that was in a prison cell, where she couldn't really fly off without some serious effort. Like, say, fighting off an entire island's worth of cutthroat pirates who hated dragons, not to mention actually getting out of the cell.

"Hiccup! What's going on? Where are they going?" I asked him, my voice coming out barely a whisper. All this terrified me. I felt like I was losing my family all over again, and I hated it. This feeling of being helpless as the only member of my family went away without telling me why, I hated it so much.

Vikings swarmed us, well, Hiccup, asking him frantic questions.

"Why did they leave?"

"What's happening?"

"Will they ever come back?"

"Stop! Wait!" he said, trying to get some breathing room. I was tempted to use some of my training to clear a space, but it wasn't necessary. Stoick came to the rescue.

"Calm down! Give him a chance to speak! Hiccup, where are all our dragons going?" he asked seriously, pushing aside the Vikings that were too close for comfort (in other words, most of them). Hiccup tried to find the words, and I put a hand on his shoulder to help him. That was all I could do for him. He glanced at me briefly, then looked back at his father.

"Dad... I don't know," he replied softly. I heard a familiar growl and looked through the crowd to see Frostwave growling at Toothless. She was using her regular dragonspeak, so I didn't know what they were talking about, but she soon flew off, Toothless staring after her longingly. It wasn't hard to tell he wanted to fly off as well.

_Later..._

We all gathered in the Great Hall later for a village meeting, with me and the other teens near the edge of the room. It was better than standing in that crowd of Vikings. I didn't like being surrounded by people bigger than me and likely to attack. It was an old habit from Blackstone that I had picked up quickly. Tuffnut was slouching in a chair the wrong way, with his sister standing behind him and Fishlegs to his right. Hiccup leaned against a pillar between me and Astrid, while Snotlout was on one side near the other girl. All of us were watching the crowd curiously.

"Where'd they go? Snoggletog is ruined!" a Viking shouted from the crowd. Bjorn, if I'm not mistaken. For the time I've known him, he's been a bit fatalistic when it comes to things. That was when Stoick jumped up on the edge of the firepit.

"It's not ruined! We're Vikings! We've been perfectly happy celebrating without dragons for generations! And there's no reason we can't do it again! Now we don't know where they've gone off to, but we have to have faith that they'll be back soon. Am I right?" Stoick shouted back, throwing his arms wide to illustrate his point. I nodded. He made a lot of sense, to me at least.

"You're right, we are Vikings! We are tough!" Gobber agreed, holding up his left arm for emphasis. I almost laughed when I saw what he was wearing, even if it had been very inappropriate. His left hand was now a stick with a bunch of tinkling bells attached, and his helmet had antlers with colorful baubles strewn among the branches. In his right hand were a few colorful lamps, red, green, and orange, probably for decorating.

"**Not right now,**" I muttered under my breath. Hiccup glanced in my direction, but didn't say anything. Maybe teaching him Benydeyh had been a good idea at first, but now I would have to be careful what I said around him. The people of Blackstone had some pretty salty language, and they hadn't been afraid to use it in front of kids. I had picked up quite a few things that would make paint peel.

The blacksmith must have realized what he was wearing and lowered his arm.

"Most of the time..." he allowed, looking around sheepishly.

"Let's sing some Snoggletog songs!" Gobber suggested cheerfully. At this, Snotlout rolled his eyes and began to walk away, and one by one we followed him. I was kinda interested in hearing the songs, but going by what I already knew about the villagers, it was probably best we didn't stick around. We left the Hall and started walking through the empty village in a line, with Fishlegs on the far right, then Tuffnut, Astrid, Snotlout, Ruffnut, Hiccup, and finally me. It was actually kind of nice walking through the snow. There hadn't been much on Blackstone, thanks to its strangely warm climate, so this was a refreshing sight. The lack of dragons was not.

"That was depressing..." Ruff said quietly. I nodded silently.

"I know! I was looking forward to spending the holiday with Stormfly," Astrid said dejectedly. I had been looking forward to my first Snoggletog with Frostwave, ever. I had been hoping it would be fun, not this gloomy stuff. That was when I noticed the upbeat whistling, so I turned my head and looked at the source. It was Fishlegs, and that was the weirdest thing I'd ever seen today. Even Gobber couldn't top that. It was suspicious, to boot. Fishlegs was the most attached to his dragon, apart from me and Hiccup.

"What are you so happy about? Don't you miss Meatlug?" Tuff asked him bemusedly. Fishlegs stopped and looked at us guiltily.

"Me? Oh! Yeah!" he said in a high-pitched voice. I narrowed my eyes at him slightly as he began to sob in a very fake way. Blackstone kids had always done this sort of thing whenever they didn't want their parents to think they weren't actually hurt and wanted to get away from classes. Sadly, it worked most of the time.

"I miss him so much!" he cried, using one hand to hide his face. The silence from the others told me they weren't buying it, and it told Fishlegs the same thing.

"Well, good night!" he said quickly before running off, peeking back at us just to make sure we weren't following him. I sighed quietly and looked at the rest.

"What will we do now? I don't really know any Snoggletog traditions, but I know a few of the better ones for the Vaycd uv Ynnejym. There's the token in the giant seed cake that makes whoever finds it the Household Head for the day, and the mistletoe thing, and..." I trailed off, seeing them all eyeing me incredulously.

"The what of what?" Tuff asked. I sighed, louder this time, and folded my arms across my chest.

"The Feast of Arrival. It's a celebration around this time of year on Blackstone, and it's actually one I kind of like. Well, the Cajah Hekrdc uv Fiends is also fun, but that won't be for another two years, and in summertime, too," I informed them wearily. Being the new girl isn't fun when no one knows what you're talking about. They all just stared at me in silence some more, until Astrid grinned with inspiration.

"I've got an idea! Let's come up with a bunch of new holiday traditions! You know, to bury the sadness!" she said excitedly. It sounded fun, even though I still thought integrating some of the Vaycd's ideas was still good.

Apparently, the others didn't think so. Snotlout, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut all groaned. At that moment, I wondered if Astrid came up with ideas like this a lot. Probably, given their reactions.

"Actually, Astrid might be onto something," Hiccup said with interest. The Twins gave him looks that said they thought he was crazy.

"Easy for _you_ to say. Your dragon can't go _anywhere_ without you," Tuff replied, and we all turned to look at the Night Fury. Toothless was sitting on a cliff, staring off into the distance hopefully.

"Must be nice," Ruff added thoughtfully. I rolled my eyes and looked at all of them carefully. Couldn't they see that it wasn't a good idea to bring that up right now? I mean, what if they had brought up how the Blackstone pirates had killed and stolen a lot from the Archipelago? Not me, thankfully. I don't think I could have lived here if that was the case. Sometimes it's nice to not have been on any real raids.

With that pleasant thought in mind, I let out a long breath, more than I thought I had in me.

"Well, I'm going to bed. I think I'll go without dinner tonight in favor of actually getting some sleep around here. Vikings today, with your long hair, and your no getting a decent amount of sleep," I muttered under my breath, peeking at Hiccup through my lashes. It was obvious he was thinking about something. I could practically hear the cogs in his head whirling as a plan formed in his mind. I should know. I do the same thing when I'm coming up with an idea.

"I'll walk you home, Addie," Snotlout offered, holding out his arm. I rolled my eyes and walked past him.

"I think I can find my way back on my own. My sense of direction isn't that bad," I replied, pushing his arm away and walking in the right direction, for once. Oh, gods. How was I going to find my way around without Frostwave? I was doomed.

* * *

I went to sleep in my hammock cold that night, wishing that my dragon was here. Frostwave wasn't just my source of warmth on Berk's icy nights. She was a source of comfort, a rich vein of soothing presence that kept me feeling safe in the night. Simon had been the same thing, before I was thrown in jail for conspiring with the "enemy". Both made me feel comfortable wherever I was. Without them, I was a fish out of water.

_The next day..._

When the beams of sun hit me that morning, I sat up and yawned.

"Good morning, Frostwave..." I began, looking where she would have been. Her slab of stone was cold, had been cold since yesterday morning, when she had last slept in it. Oh yeah... she was gone. My best friend had flown away yesterday, and I didn't even know why.

'This is gonna be a long day,' I thought grimly.

* * *

I was walking with Snotlout and the Twins through the village, seeing as there was nothing better to do. A few kids were making a Gronckle out of snow as we passed by, but there was no joy behind their actions. We had reached the village plaza when Astrid popped up with a shield-tray of mugs and a pitcher. Whatever was in that pitcher smelled foul, almost as bad as the underside of a sheep. Don't ask how I know that. You really don't want to know.

"Yaknog! Get your Yaknog! Come on! Get a frothy delicious cup of cheer!" she called out invitingly. I grimaced and stepped behind Ruffnut.

"I think I've had enough cheer for the day," I muttered, trying to avoid inhaling any more Yaknog fumes. If I had to guess, I'd say it was more toxic than some of the plants I deal with for making medicine.

"Hey, you guys! Try this tasty new beverage I made for the holidays," she enthused, shifting the tray in her hands. I eyed it suspiciously and shook my head.

"**You couldn't get me to drink that if my life was on the line,**" I replied, glaring at the offending "beverage". Astrid ignored me.

"Ugh! What's that smell? Is that you?" Tuffnut complained, shoving his sister rudely. The smarter blonde girl (hint, her name begins with an A) showed him the thing she had made.

"It's Yaknog!" she told him brightly. Tuffnut took one look at her pouring out some into a mug and gagged. I did, too. That stuff didn't just smell nasty, it looked nasty, and chances were, it tasted just as bad.

"Ugh! If I drink that, I'm gonna yak nog all over the place!" Tuffnut exclaimed, stepping back a bit.

"Maybe you'd rather taste a punch in the face?" she replied, holding up a fist for added emphasis.

"Astrid, it sounds delightful. I'd love a mug," Snotlout said pleasantly. I smirked at this. Honestly, I think Snotlout would eat shards of glass if Astrid said he would have a chance with her when he did it. But still, his attempts to woo her would always be amusing.

He took one mug and drank it all, a look of revulsion quickly consuming his face. When he didn't show any sign of swallowing, I nearly had to laugh.

"What's the matter, Snotlout? Is it too much for your taste buds?" I asked him laughingly. He shot a glare at me, then gulped it down reluctantly. I've seen a dragon go near an eel more readily than he drank the Yaknog.

"You could really taste the yak!" he coughed out, trying to keep her from seeing the grimace on his face. At that time, Fishlegs joined us and saw what was in her hands.

"Hmmm! Yum! What is that?" he asked curiously. Astrid turned to face him, putting Snotlout at her back, and I could see him trying to hold it in.

"Oh! You wanna try some? It's my new traditional drink," she told the bulky boy. Behind her, Snotlout shook his head, warning him that he really shouldn't touch one drop of it. Fishlegs got the hint.

"Oh... You know... um... I have suddenly, inexplicably changed my mind," he replied quickly, responding to the threat of Yaknog poisoning with admirable speed. It would have been a bit funny if he had drunk it, and gods know, I need something to laugh about. So far, aside from a few minor adventures, nothing particularly amusing had happened yet (though that mishap with the Terrible Terrors had been kinda entertaining)..

Ah, but wait. There was still one person who didn't know about the Yaknog, and slowly an evil grin spread across my face. Well, I might as well have some fun with Hiccup. I doubted Snoggletog was going to be much of a celebration when everyone was so down like this.

"Well, you don't know what you're missing," Astrid said, just a hint of disappointment in her voice. I cautiously crept out from behind Ruffnut and tapped her on the shoulder.

"I bet Hiccup will love it. Can you send him a drink for me?" I asked her maliciously. She eyed me suspiciously, but nodded.

"Sure. Hiccup!" she replied, walking toward the forge. Ruffnut chose this moment to look at Snotlout closely.

"Are you crying?" she asked incredulously. I turned and scrutinized him.

"I think he is. How bad was it, Snotlout?" I said seriously, putting a hand on his shoulder. He just gave us all a pitiful look and stumbled over to a barrel, where he promptly collapsed, groaning softly.

"I'm gonna take that as meaning pretty damn bad." Voices drifted toward me from the forge, and I turned to see Astrid talking to Hiccup. He didn't seem to be saying anything, and finally Astrid pointed back at me. They both turned, and I waved nervously. What were they talking about?

The girl called something over her shoulder as she took the hazardous drink away, and when she was out of earshot, Hiccup spat out whatever was in his mouth. I grinned evilly before walking up to him.

"So, how was your drink?" my voice came out casually, looking at the blueprints before him. So this was why he hadn't come back last night. He must have been working on this all night long. He glared at me while folding his arms across his chest.

"Oh, it was wonderful, Addie. You don't know what you were missing," he replied sarcastically. I nodded carefully and noticed what was on the work table.

"What's this?" I examined it a bit more closely, and my eyes widened with amazement.

"Hiccup, this is awesome! Won't this help Toothless fly on his own?" I asked him, glancing back at him. He blushed a bit and nodded.

"Yeah. I already explained this to Astrid, but what Tuffnut said last night really got to me. Toothless really can't come and go like all the other dragons, and it's my fault. I thought I could try to make it up to him by doing this," he explained quietly, glancing at the finished product. I nodded.

"Well, I think it's pretty amazing. Not many people could come up with something like this," I told him earnestly. Hiccup was a mechanical genius. I was good at making weapons and armor, and saddles, if necessary, but he could take those and make them something more. To be honest, I was a bit jealous. I wanted to have the creativity to make something as incredible as a replacement tail fin for a dragon. Oh well. At least I had some pretty good medicinal lore. Hiccup may be the inventor, but I was the healer.

Hiccup smiled, then glanced back at his house when the banging started. Toothless must have thought his rider was still asleep. He picked up the tail fin, tucked it under his arm, and tilted his head toward the house; it took me a second to realize he wanted me to come with him. I grinned in reply and walked with him toward the Night Fury on the roof.

Toothless was jumping up and down on the scaled roof a few more times when we got there, but he stopped when he saw the two of us.

"Toothless! Come on down, bud! I got something for ya!" Hiccup called, holding out the fin. The Night Fury quickly leaped down and eyed him. I smiled at how suspicious Toothless sniffed the equipment, but seeing him reminded me of how Frostwave was gone.

"What do you think of that? Yeah." He started to go around to the dragon's tail, but Toothless kept moving away. It would have been funny, if it didn't make me remember my own dragon.

"Would you just settle down? Toothless! Come on, bud! Let me get that on you!" he said exasperatedly as they kept going around in circles. I rolled my eyes and held out a hand.

"Stop, in the name of Addie!" I said loudly. Surprisingly enough, he did stop, and Hiccup started getting the fin attached.

"Yeah! You are going to love this. Okay." With a final click, it slipped into place and Hiccup got off. Toothless flicked his tail, and almost immediately started moaning and jumping around, trying to get it off like it was some sort of pest or invader.

"No no no... To-Toothless! Stop! Please, wait! Toothless, please!" Hiccup cried out, doing his best to calm his dragon down. I ducked as one swing nearly knocked me over, and with a single movement, the fin opened to match the real limb. Just like that, Toothless stopped and his pupils widened, making me smile. Maybe he knew what it was. Dragons are pretty smart, when they try to be.

"Ah... There you go. See? Got it?" the boy said as the dragon tested out the movement of the fin, looking at it in surprise and alarm as it opened like its match without Hiccup's help. The Night Fury's head swiveled as it first looked at Hiccup and me, then the fin, then back to us. His pupils had shrunk again, and that made me nervous. They say that you can tell how a demon feels by looking at its tail. With dragons, it's the eyes.

"Toothless... whoa!" I began, but Toothless leaping into the air cut off what I was about to say. We both stumbled back at the force of his wing beats, and when the wind had died down, Hiccup and I looked up to see Toothless flying away from Berk.

'Oh no,' I thought despairingly. Suddenly, everything seemed a lot grimmer than before.

_Three days later..._

3rd Person POV: Hiccup

Hiccup woke up to more banging on the ceiling, and hope swelled up inside him. Toothless was back! He rushed downstairs, where Addie was tying her hair back in its little ponytail, and together they went outside.

"Toothless! I knew you'd come back... urgh!" Hiccup said joyfully, grunting when he slipped on that same patch of ice and landed on his back. She helped him up, and they both looked at the roof. Stoick was up there, hammering some decorations into place, and he looked down to see them.

"Morning, son! Addie!" he called from the roof, a ladder near where he stood.

"Oh, hey, Dad..." Hiccup replied, trying to keep his disappointment out of his voice. He had been so hopeful that it was Toothless that seeing his father just wasn't the same.

"Hi, Stoick," Adeline added with a small wave.

"Glad you're up! I was looking for your helmet," the chief said, looking at the top of Hiccup's head. He paled, and his face grew nervous.

"My-my helmet?" Hiccup stammered, fidgeting a bit.

"Odin needs a place to put your goodies. Oh, and don't worry, Adeline. I've asked Gobber to lend you one of the extras he always has," he added, winking at the girl as he came down the ladder. She nodded slowly, unsure how to react, and glanced at Hiccup for guidance.

"Yeah, right... I-I'll get on that. Great..." he muttered, starting to walk away. Stoick must have sensed what was wrong, because he reached the bottom and looked at the two of them.

"Hold on!" he called, coming after them. Hiccup and Addie turned to face him again.

"Hold on. Alright, come one. What's on your mind? Out with it," he asked. A father's intuition was pretty strong when it came to family. Well, most of the time. His son sighed and looked at Addie for reassurance. She put a hand on his shoulder and dipped her head silently, mostly because there was nothing she could really say to help.

"Oh, it's been three days, Dad. I just thought Toothless would be back by now," Hiccup explained sadly. Stoick nodded in understanding.

"I'm sure he's with the other dragons," he replied, doing his best to cheer the two of them up.

"Yeah? We wish we could be that sure," his son replied bitterly. The chief sighed.

"Listen. I know what it's like to miss someone you love this time of year. But what do we do when they can't be here for the holiday? We celebrate them. And I imagine that is exactly what Toothless would want you to do. Right?" he said quietly, putting a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. Hiccup waited a bit before answering.

"You're right," he agreed, and Addie nodded, too. If he didn't know any better, he would have thought there was a sad look in her eyes, something deeper than the scars on her arms. They tried to avoid mentioning them – mostly for survival – but it was clear there was some bad stuff in her past. Maybe this Snoggletog could have helped her make some happy memories, but now...

"Good. Now go get that helmet," the chief said loudly, smacking a hand to his son's shoulder. "We've had enough disappointment around here." At that, he walked away, while Hiccup rubbed his shoulder and moved his left arm in a circle to get it back to normal. When his father was gone, he sighed and looked at Adeline.

"You okay?" he asked, putting a hand to her right shoulder. It hadn't taken long for him to notice that she acted a bit weird whenever he touched her left shoulder, and so he did his best to avoid it. She let out a long breath and glanced at the sunrise.

"Just some old memories resurfacing. I'll be fine," the brunette replied. By the way she set her jaw, it was clear she wasn't going to say anything else, and so Hiccup walked into the village. He was going after his helmet, even if he had to swim to get there.

Okay, maybe not swim – not in that cold water – but you get the picture.

* * *

Hiccup was carrying a pair of oars down to the docks when he bumped into Fishlegs, who was passing by with a basket full of fish. He eyed the contents curiously and looked at the older boy.

"Oh, Fishlegs, you hungry? There's enough fish there to feed a dragon!" he joked. Fishlegs chuckled awkwardly, peeking to the sides to make sure no one else was around.

"Oh, a dragon? That's..." he trailed off, scurrying away with the basket. Hiccup stared after him bemusedly, wondering just what he was up to, when he felt someone tap his shoulder. He turned to see Addie hanging upside down from a support beam, watching the path Fishlegs had taken.

"Um, Addie, what are you doing?" he asked warily. She curled up, then flipped down and landed on her feet easily.

"I saw Fishlegs carrying that basket, and I thought it was suspicious, so I followed him," she stated bluntly, folding her arms. Hiccup put a hand to his forehead and sighed.

"No, I meant, why were you hanging upside down?" he clarified. At this, the girl shrugged.

"I felt like it. You should try it sometime. Now, let's see what our pal Fishlegs is up to," she answered, taking one of the oars and going after the meaty boy. Hiccup groaned inwardly and chased after her. She held out a hand to stop him from going any farther at one point, peeking around to see Fishlegs leaving a house – without the basket – and locking it up before walking away. The two of them set their oars down and went up to the house.

"Addie, it's locked, and Fishlegs has the key. I don't think he'd like it if we asked him for it," Hiccup said as she bent down a bit and pulled a thin metal rod out of her belt. Addie then looked around carefully before putting a hand to her buckle, and Hiccup was amazed to see it flip up and reveal a small knife. She saw him looking and winked.

"Don't tell anyone. It's supposed to be a secret," she whispered, holding it easily and using it and the rod to pick the lock. After a minute or so of wiggling and adjusting, she finally managed to get it into the right angle and unlocked the door.

"That was... pretty impressive. Is that how you got me out of that net?" he asked, eyes wide with admiration. She blushed and did a little half shrug.

"Well, I didn't need to use my knife, but the basic principle is the same. Although, the locks here are easier than those on Blackstone. I guess that's 'cause on that island, you have to be more careful, what with all the _treacherous thieves_ around you," she replied. He rolled his eyes and put a hand on one of the door's metal handles.

"Ready?" he asked. She nodded grimly and grabbed the other door.

"Now!" she shouted, and they both pulled the doors open. Both blinked at the sight of Meatlug chained up inside, and both yelled in shock when the Gronckle came flying toward them. The chain broke with a resounding _clang!_ and they were both slammed into. It took all they had to hold onto the speeding dragon. When Hiccup managed to get a good look at the dragon's face, he shouted, "Meatlug?"

The dragon looked at him in brief surprise, then went back to flying away. She passed low over the village, and Addie managed to pull her leg up just in time to avoid hitting Astrid's head. The blonde girl stared after them in shock.

"Hiccup? Addie? Where are you going?" she shouted. The boy and girl struggled to hang onto the dragon's face.

"I HAVE NO IDEA!" he yelled back, the three of them getting farther and farther away.

3rd Person POV: Astrid

"Meatlug? What about presents? Hey!" Fishlegs shouted from a walkway high above, making Astrid turn around to see him. She groaned and rounded up the remaining teens before heading up to where the young man had imprisoned his dragon.

"I can't believe him," he said sadly, looking at where Meatlug had slept. She gave him an incredulous look (which she is very good at).

"_You_ can't believe _him_?! You kidnapped your dragon!" she shouted back angrily. He flinched and looked away, even as the twins went up to a pile of hay and moved aside a few stalks. Their eyes widened with surprise. There was something under the hay.

"Hey, guys...?" Tuffnut called at the two arguing people. Snotlout just stood there watching them, and Astrid and Fishlegs were having a one-sided standoff, so no one really paid attention to their discovery.

"He flew away the second he was unleashed!" Astrid yelled, waving her arm at the door. Fishlegs backed up a bit before answering.

"I'm 72 percent sure he wanted to stay," he answered uncertainly. The twins moved aside enough hay to see what was hidden, and they both looked at it in shock. Ruffnut gaped at it while an exasperated look appeared on Tuffnut's face, and because no one was paying attention, he shouted, "Guys!" The others joined them, and they were amazed to see a bunch of bumpy blue rocks.

"Whoa... Meatlug barfed up a pile of rocks," Fishlegs said bemusedly. Ruffnut rolled her eyes. Even to her, it was obvious what they really were.

"You're such an idiot. Those aren't rocks. Your dragon laid eggs!" she replied as Astrid picked up one egg.

"Hey, wait. I bet that's why the dragons left. To lay their eggs," she realized proudly. Fishlegs frowned in confusion.

"But boy dragons don't lay eggs," he said, trying to figure this puzzle out. Ruffnut did her best to break the news to him gently.

"Yeah, your _boy_ dragon is a _girl_ dragon," she said. Okay, maybe not _that_ gently.

"Okay! That actually explains a few things," Fishlegs replied, his voice squeaking a little as his illusions shattered * insert sound of glass breaking *. An idea was coming to Astrid, yet another in a long line of not-so-good concepts (see: Yaknog), and she popped up with a cheerful, "Hey!"

"Everyone's missing their dragons, right?" she asked the others rhetorically. Snotlout groaned.

"Oh, here it comes."

Astrid went over to a box of decorations and supplies, grabbed a red ribbon, and tied it neatly around the egg.

"I've got an idea! It'll be another new Snoggletog tradition," she said, showing them the result of her expert tying skills. They got to work decking more eggs out in pretty ribbons, pine boughs, and other bits of trim, and once they were done, they grabbed a few each and set off into the village.

"Oh, this is gonna be so good!" she said delightedly. The five of them went throughout Berk, going into people's houses and putting eggs into the helmets. Little did they know what was in store for them...

* * *

Adeline's POV

I wasn't sure how long we were flying, but eventually we came to a foggy area much like where we had found the Boneknapper. Hiccup had managed to get onto Meatlug's back and helped me up behind him, and I could only watch as we flew over unfamiliar waters. Out of nowhere, a sea stack loomed in front of us, and the Gronckle barely swerved out of the way.

"Whoa!" Hiccup shouted. I just wrapped my arms tighter around his waist. This was getting to be a bit much for my poor self. If Meatlug didn't kill us, I was going to smack Fishlegs for doing this to us, after I found Frostwave and the other dragons. I just hoped that was where we were going.

"Meatlug, where are you taking us?" Hiccup asked the Gronckle. I peeked over his shoulder and saw... more fog and rocks.

"Well, it's probably not anywhere near Blackstone Island. The area around there is nothing like this," I replied with relief. At least the dragons didn't go near that awful place. Really, nothing should go near there.

Hiccup grunted in agreement, and again, something came at us from the fog. He pulled up on the dragon's "ears" and avoided colliding with the figurehead of an old Viking ship. Whoever had used it was long gone, judging by how it had run aground.

We managed to get above the clouds, where visibility was much better. All around us was a sea of fluffy white, with some lighter clouds high above. It was weird how clouds layered themselves. Maybe, like dragons, there were different kinds of clouds. Eventually, we cleared the clouds to see a large, reddish-brown island beneath us, with a lagoon in the center. There was movement on the rocky island, and hope swelled up in me. Were those the dragons?

Meatlug swooped lower, and we shot across the waves to the island. Meatlug skidded to a stop at the edge, and we took the chance to get off before she decided to go on another impromptu flight. She spotted something and began to walk away, but all Hiccup and I could do was stare. Hundreds, no, thousands of dragons must have been here, with tiny versions of them fluttering around. I spotted a Nadder that looked like Stormfly, and it approached a small ring with several baby Nadders inside.

"You guys come here to have babies," Hiccup said in amazement. We both watched the Nadder start regurgitating some fish for the babies, and I smirked.

'So that's why dragons throw up some of their food. They store it for the ones that can't hunt,' I thought amazedly. It made me think of the second time I met Frostwave. She had brought me a fish, too, and had basically coerced me into eating it. If I had refused, she might have done something a little hazardous to my continued existence.

Frostwave...

"Whoa..." he said at the sight. Movement below caught our eyes, and we looked down to see another Gronckle pushing eggs into a hole filled with water. Hiccup and I skidded down to watch what happened. We peered into the depths, and I couldn't help but gasp when the egg exploded at the bottom to let a baby Gronckle out. It swam up quickly and pulled itself out of the water, then tried to fly over to the mother. Its sibling followed quickly.

"Wow," Hiccup and I said in unison. We both glanced at each other, and I blushed. That had been a bit weird. He stood up, helped me rise, and noticed an egg that hadn't made it into the pool.

"Hey, look over here, you missed one," he told the mother, walking over to it. Red cracks appeared in its surface, and I reached out a hand to stop him. It was too late. The egg exploded and knocked Hiccup several feet away.

"WHOA!" I paled and ran over to him. He looked up at what had happened, then at me.

"Hiccup, are you okay?" I asked worriedly, helping him sit up. He nodded, rubbed the back of his head, and stared at the hatchling. It seemed unharmed, even though it had shot up high into the sky and come falling down quite hard.

"Yeah. Man, it's a good thing those don't hatch on Berk," he replied thankfully. I nodded slowly and looked around. If dragon eggs were this explosive, then I was very glad there were none on Berk (**A.N. Just keep thinking that, Addie. Just keep thinking that...**).

* * *

3rd Person POV: Astrid

The teens finished placing the gift-wrapped eggs in helmets and boots and met up in the village plaza. Astrid was grinning widely the whole time.

"Wasn't this a great idea?" she asked eagerly. Fishlegs nodded, just as excited as she was.

"Uh-huh! Everyone's gonna be so surprised!" he replied happily. At that moment, the house she had just come out of exploded, and something flew through the air and hit Fishlegs in the face. He yelped in pain and fell down, and Snotlout took this moment to shout, "Surprise!"

The thing that had hit him fell down and landed on his belly. It was a tiny orange Gronckle! It yawned, and Ruff, Tuff, and Snotlout all cooed with pleasure. Astrid, on the other hand, was stiff with shock.

"The eggs explode?" she asked quietly. Houses everywhere began exploding, every single one a house they had placed eggs inside.

"The eggs explode!"

One house blew up, and a man ran from it screaming, the horns of his helmet on fire. Astrid tried to apologize to everyone running past her, but they weren't listening. Their village was being destroyed by innocent baby dragons! One shot out and hit another, and they both watched as more began pummeling the big tree. The first hit the top, nearly knocking the star off, and more salvos soon followed. The Snoggletog tree went up in flames, all that hard work gone to waste. The other teens weren't too worried about that, though.

"Awesome!" Ruff shouted gleefully, and her brother added a, "Wow!" to prove how amazing this was to them. Snotlout grinned and looked at Astrid.

"This is your best idea yet!" he told her brightly. All she could do was stand there, petrified, as more houses blew up and more of the village was destroyed. The village hadn't been destroyed in months! These were supposed to be peaceful times now.

Stoick joined the rest of the village in gawking at the burning "tree", then looked at the teens.

"What in Thor's name is going on?!" he shouted furiously. Astrid covered her mouth nervously.

"The eggs explode," she repeated. One final house blew up to make her point, and she gave the chief a sheepish smile.

* * *

Adeline's POV

Hiccup and I had decided to split up to find our dragons, seeing as we could cover more ground that way. I was having some trouble with not going in circles, Hiccup's cries of Toothless's name fading away into the distance, but eventually I came across a welcome sight. It was Frostwave, curled up around a nest of her own with plenty of space between her and the other dragons.

"Frostwave!" I shouted, happy tears springing to my eyes. They were tears that I had been holding back for the past five days, but now I could let them fall freely. She looked up in surprise as I ran up to her and grabbed her head, burying my face in the space between the two parts of her horn. She let out a soft hum of laughter and managed to wriggle out of my grip.

"_Hello, Addie. I see you have found me again,_" she crooned gently, licking my face to wash away the tears. I smiled, nodded, and looked around with wonder.

"What is this place?" I asked her curiously. She crooned with amusement, then blew a cloud of mist at me. The island was warm, warmer than Berk, so it didn't bother me as much when she did it, but still. I have a reputation to uphold.

"_This is the nesting island, a safe place for all dragons to lay their eggs. However, it was not until recently that I felt I was safe enough to lay my egg,_" she explained serenely. Wait.

Egg?

My mind sputtered over this revelation, trying to regain its footing in a world that until recently had seemed stable. Frostwave... had an egg? What? I'm pretty sure reptiles don't work like that, incredible dragons or not. And yet, there was a tiny white version of Frostwave curled up beside her, only with light gray stripes along the phalanges of its wings, back, and the back of his legs. I knew my dragon had similar lines of a slightly darker silver on the back of her legs, and as far as I knew, she was the only Silver Horror around for miles. Until now, that is.

"_I can sense your confusion, and I understand. It is another blessing from She Who Created Us With Her Breath, one that has both helped and hindered my kind. If a female that is bearing eggs feels threatened, the unborn hatchlings go into a temporary stasis until she feels safe again. That is why I was able to hold my egg in until now,_" Frostwave said, as if this was something she had expected. I blinked, remembering that she had lost her mate several years ago.

"And exactly how long can this last?" I asked weakly. She hummed with amused pleasure.

"_Over twenty leaf-cycles, if necessary. I have been holding this precious one for twelve. His name is Starfrost, and he is my first hatchling. Treat him well._" My head nodded, dazed from this knowledge. I had spent over three years with Frostwave, yet I still knew so little about her species. It made me feel kind of ashamed. I had been so focused on my own needs, on getting out and being free, that I had never bothered to ask her about herself. What kind of a friend was I?

"Uh, hi there, Starfrost," I said uncertainly, squatting down to get a better look at him. He raised his head, revealing two crimson eyes that watched me curiously, and yawned. His teeth were only just starting to come in, tiny peaks of black bone peeking out of his sable gums. The only reason I could see them was because they didn't glisten with saliva. It was adorable.

"_He is only a few days old, but already he can fly and breathe ice. Soon, he will be ready to receive dragon lore,_" Frostwave commented, lowering her head to his level and nudging his horn with her nose. The two pieces were short compared to hers, but I could tell they would grow larger. He was about the size of a sheep already, and that was at a few days. Starfrost would be huge when he was older.

"Um, okay. That's good to hear... right?" She snorted out a cloud of mist that didn't help with my state of mind.

"_Of course it is. Every dragon that knows our history is another way to keep it alive,_" she replied, as if this were something I should have assumed automatically. I nodded slowly and held out a hand to her baby. Before he could do the whole human-dragon-bonding thing, my dragon started growling in warning, and I pulled back the offending limb. When a Silver Horror growls at you, you back the Hel off and get out of range. A moment later, Frostwave gave me an ashamed look and bumped her head against my arm.

"_I apologize, Addie. Motherly instinct made me forget who you were for a few seconds,_" she crooned, rubbing her horn against the side of my face. I shrugged and placed my hands under her chin.

"Hey, if I was one of the last of my kind, and I had my baby right here, and someone potentially hostile approached him, I'd snarl, too. Well, I'd scream at them to get away from my kid, and then I might resort to drastic measures, but the feeling is the same," I allowed casually, moving to the other side. She hummed with knowing amusement, but didn't say anything. I think she was just glad I had backed off of Starfrost.

"So, um, who's the father?" I tried to ask casually. Frostwave's eyes narrowed with sadness, but she did answer me.

"_His name was Cloudstar, and he was a mighty dragon, indeed. I am glad he chose me as his lifemate, even if we could only be together for a few moons,_" her answer came out a soft growl. My face dropped. So Frostwave only had this little baby left of her mate. I was almost too scared to ask her, but I gritted my teeth and charged ahead.

"What happened?" I asked reluctantly. She snarled wordlessly and spat out a small chunk of ice. It hit the ground and formed thin spikes, which Starfrost started playing with and making little coos of delight.

"_Humans, some vile humans of Blackstone, caught him. If I hadn't had Starfrost to worry about, I would have tried to save him, but he told me to protect our hatchling. That was the last time I ever saw him,_" she snarled, nearly slipping into dragonspeak a few times when she got too angry. The only thing that kept her from biting me was my hand on her neck and Starfrost's presence. An angry Silver Horror was a deadly Silver Horror.

"I... I'm sorry, Frostwave. You didn't have to tell me," I replied quietly. She shook her head, an old habit she had picked up from me, and nudged me with her nose.

"_It is all right. You were bound to ask eventually. I am just glad it is when my son is here, and not dead because I tried to save my lifemate. Besides, I believe you have someone looking for you,_" she crooned laughingly, and I stared at her in confusion. That was when I heard Hiccup faintly calling me.

"_Go. Be with the one you love,_" she encouraged. I stuck my tongue out at her, and I'm pretty sure I was fire red, but I followed the sound of Hiccup's voice to its source. The Viking boy smiled with relief when he saw me.

"Did you find them?" he asked hopefully. I nodded and looked back at my dragon and her baby.

"Well, Frostwave has apparently been pregnant for twelve years, but I haven't seen Toothless anywhere. What about you?" I replied, grimacing at the thought. Do dragons even get pregnant? Is that the right word? He gave me a funny look and pointed at two familiar shapes: a Monstrous Nightmare and a Deadly Nadder.

"I found Hookfang and Stormfly, and it looks like they're all busy with their young. Do you think Frostwave will carry us back to Berk?" he said, glancing over my shoulder at the silver dragon and her baby. When he saw the white child, he raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, Addie, if they're called Silver Horrors, why is the baby white?" he asked. I blinked, then realized he hadn't spent several years with a Silver Horror, like I had.

"Oh, it's how you know their age. Their scales get more silver with every year they're alive, and they also get a lot tougher. They also shed and eat the old scales, which I think is pretty disgusting, but it makes them stronger," I replied easily. He grimaced at the mention of eating the old skin, and I couldn't agree with him more. Eating scales? Yuck.

"_I am remaining on the nesting island until Starfrost is old enough to fly without my help, so do not expect me to leave for another day,_" Frostwave roared, answering his question. I translated quickly, then sighed in defeat.

"Well, I'm hungry. Do you think Stormfly or Hookfang will give us a ride back?" I suggested. Hiccup shrugged.

"It's worth a shot." We walked toward the Monstrous Nightmare ridden by a certain moron.

"Hey, there, Hookfang? Think you can give us a ride back home?" I asked the red dragon, leaning against his side. He growled warmly and let Hiccup climb onto his neck, with me joining him swiftly. Once we were seated and had a good grip on the dragon, he took off and hovered over the island.

"We'll see you all back on Berk when you're good and ready, okay, gang?" Hiccup called to the dragons below. Immediately, other dragons started flying up to join us, and I smacked a hand to my head.

"So much for that idea," I mumbled, placing my forehead against Hiccup's back. The fur felt nice and soft, and his back was warm. I hadn't realized just how cold my body was without Frostwave until now. It was vaguely unsettling.

"Oh, no, no! No, no, no! I... think I just started the return migration," he said to himself. I groaned and watched as more and more dragons joined our growing flight. Baby dragons below started snarling and growling curiously, wondering why their parents were leaving, and Stormfly stopped to growl at them. I wasn't sure what they were saying, but it seemed like she was telling them to fly. They began running toward the edge of a cliff, and my stomach felt like lead.

'Please, gods of Asgard, if you ever had any kindness toward me, please don't let those dragons die,' I prayed silently.

"Well, if you insist," Hiccup said nervously. A few babies fell off the edge and started to fly, rising unsteadily.

"Come on! Come on!" Hiccup cheered. It seemed like they were going to make it, but the wind was too strong for them to get more than a few yards away from the edge, and it blew them back up onto the cliff.

"Ah, boy, this is never gonna work," Hiccup grumbled. The parents were waiting for their babies, but they were simply too weak to make it. We needed some way to carry all of them, but there were too many to load them onto the dragons themselves. They would have all fallen into the sea. Wait...

"Hiccup, wasn't there something we could use to get them off the island?" I asked, trying to remember what it was. He thought about it, too, and a smile came to his face.

"Oh! Hold on. I've got just the thing," he said, and we flew off in the direction we had come from (I think).

3rd Person POV: Stoick

Baby Gronckles were everywhere, lying in barrels of food and amongst the wreckage of houses. Men and women carried supplies to places that needed it, and Stoick walked with Gobber through the warzone.

"Ah, Gobber, this is a disaster," he grumbled. Gobber shrugged.

"Oh, it's not so bad," the blacksmith replied. Stoick gave him an incredulous look as they passed through the wall of a house and under Astrid, who was repairing the roof of said house.

"Oh, not that bad? The village is destroyed, the dragons have gone and left us... Let's face it. This holiday is a complete..." he trailed off as they walked through the open doorway to a place where no one was moving. They all stared at some part of the sky silently, and he pushed his way through to the front.

"What are these people looking at?" Stoick asked. He looked up to see something strange. It was a huge, dark cloud coming toward them, and the top part was moving rapidly. He stared at it in amazement.

"What is that?"

A dragon figurehead moved into view, and he realized that it was the dragons carrying a ship. In front, Hiccup and Adeline were riding Hookfang, and the pirate girl even waved cheekily.

"It's Hiccup and Adeline!" he shouted happily. On the house behind him, Astrid smiled widely.

"And our dragons!" she added. At this, everyone in the village cheered. The ship came in for a rough landing, sliding past two sheep and coming to a stop in front of Stoick. Once it had stopped moving, all the dragons let go of the ropes that held it up, and the ship listed to the side. Vikings crept forward apprehensively, wondering just what was so important about this ship. They soon found out.

Baby dragons came out from the damaged vessel, Nadders and Monstrous Nightmares and Zipplebacks and every other kind of dragon possible. The village smiled at the sight of this new life, and as the babies fluttered down, their parents landed and reunited with their human riders. Hiccup and Addie got off to cheers of "Welcome back, kiddos!" and "Good job!". The other teens rushed forward to greet their dragons.

"Yeah! Whoo-hoo!" Snotlout shouted as he hugged Hookfang's snout. Meatlug flew high overhead, searching for something, and landed where her babies had clustered together. She barfed up several fish for them to feast on, much to their delight, and they dug in.

"Meatlug!" Fishlegs shouted before tackling his dragon and sending them both flying.

"Stormfly! You're back!" Astrid cried out, hugging her Nadder. She gasped when the little hatchlings looked up at her.

"And there are babies!" she said joyfully, kneeling down to look at them. Stoick laughed heartily and picked Hiccup and Addie up in a great bear hug.

"Well done, you two," he chortled, and the girl tensed up. When she realized it was just a friendly move, though, he could feel her relax. What was that all about? Well, no matter. The dragons were back.

"Thanks, Dad," Hiccup said, trying to get some air.

A roar punctuated the air, and they all looked up to see a silver shape flying toward them, illuminated by the moon, and Addie struggled out of his grip to meet the late arrival. At this, Stoick decided to let Hiccup go as well. Of course, he didn't notice his son putting a hand to his waist in mild pain, but that was just because of the infectious joy around them. It made it hard to see the bad things.

"Frostwave! Oh, Frostwave! I thought you said you weren't coming with us?" she asked, holding the head of the dragon tightly. Frostwave huffed out a cloud of mist, moved her head toward her back, and picked something up. It was a tiny white version of the female dragon, with a few differences. The girl gasped and picked up the baby.

"You carried him here? Just so we could all celebrate together? Frostwave, I didn't know you were such a softie!" she said loudly, holding the baby Silver Horror carefully. Stoick grinned and threw his arms wide.

"Everyone! Grab your dragons! To the Great Hall! We finally have something to celebrate!" he shouted, walking forward. The village, humans and dragons alike, cheered.

Adeline's POV

_In the Great Hall..._

The party in the Great Hall was better than anything Blackstone could produce. Lights hung from cords attached to the pillars - lanterns like the ones Gobber had earlier - and good food was arranged on the tables. But still, there was something missing, and I wasn't the only one who noticed. Hiccup was looking around, searching for Toothless, and so far, he wasn't finding him. Frostwave had said she hadn't seen Toothless on the island, so all I could do was be there for him.

"Hiccup, I know it's hard feeling like the odd man out. But you did do a really wonderful thing. Thank you," I said softly, hugging him tightly. I had a surprise for him, but it could wait.

"Addie, where did Toothless go?" he asked, pulling away. I shook my head slowly.

"I don't know. Frostwave won't tell me anything," I replied sadly. Just then, I heard the doors at the end open, just barely audible over the raucous crowd. I peeked over Hiccup's shoulder to see who it was. As far as I knew, the entire village had gathered here to celebrate. All but one member.

Toothless crept through the doors quietly, looking around for Hiccup, I think. That's when the evil part of my mind decided to tease Hiccup a little. What can I say? I'm a terrible, terrible person.

"Wow, man, I wouldn't wanna be you right now! I mean, you brought back everyone's dragon except yours! That really bites," I said loudly, putting a hand on his shoulder to keep him from turning. He gave me a really uncomfortable look.

"Yeah, you know, this is not helping, at all," he replied dryly. I grinned and spun him around to see the dragon running toward us. Instantly, Hiccup's bad mood went away.

"TOOTHLESS! Hey, bud!" he said joyfully, running forward and hugging the dragon. I grinned at the sight of them, and felt a nudge against my hand. Starfrost, Frostwave's little baby boy, was looking up at me with his big red eyes. I picked him up and held him carefully. He still hadn't learned to keep his claws in, and so I had to be watchful. Frostwave looked over my shoulder at the two of them, while I heard Gobber say Stoick's name. I wasn't sure what he did next, because I was too absorbed in how happy Hiccup was.

"Bad dragon! Very bad dragon!" he scolded, pointing at Toothless. The Night Fury followed his finger distractedly, which made me smile. Everything seemed to be going well, but something was peeking out of the corner of Toothless's mouth, and I wanted to know what it was.

"You scared me to death! Don't ever stay away that long again! And what is in your mouth?" Hiccup finally asked, peering at the thing. Toothless bent over, put his mouth over his head, and opened wide, dumping a certain saliva-coated helmet on his head. Everyone groaned but me. Hey, it was just dragon spit. Frostwave used it to clean me every two days, and I came out just fine. Actually, pretend I didn't say that. I never want Hiccup to know that Frostwave washes me.

Hiccup laughed exasperatedly.

"Yeah, you found my helmet. Wha-hey! You found my helmet! That's where you've been?" he asked incredulously while the Night Fury bumped his head against his rider's body.

"Buddy, thank you. You are amazing." With that, Hiccup hugged his dragon, and Astrid cried out, "Happy Snoggletog!"

_The next day..._

3rd Person POV: Hiccup

Hiccup woke up to Toothless banging on the roof again, and so he quickly went outside to see him. Before he could get around to the side of the house, Toothless started jumping up and down again.

"I'm coming, Toothless! Alright, bud, come on down. I was just..." he said, then saw that Toothless had pulled out the old saddle and tail fin. They were lying in the snow, the battered leather and scarlet fin standing out against the fresh powder.

"Toothless, what'd you pull this out for? You don't need this anymore. Come on, let's get going," Hiccup said, moving toward the dragon. The Night Fury circled away, making sure to keep the old flight gear between him and his rider. They kept at it until Hiccup finally stopped – right back where he started.

"Would you quit fooling around? You have your new tail now. Toothless!" His dragon looked at him, then held up his tail and focused on it. His real fin opened, and the fake did, too, a reminder of just what this meant for the dragon. He turned back to Hiccup and, with a grand gesture, began hitting it against the ground.

"Toothless! Stop! What are you doing?" Hiccup shouted in surprise. The fin broke off and Toothless nudged the saddle with his foot, giving him a very adorable look. That was when Hiccup realized it. Toothless _wanted_ to need him to fly. He slowly smiled at this, and began putting the old gear on. When he was done, he was just about to climb into the saddle when a girl cleared her throat behind him. Hiccup turned to see Addie smirking at him.

"What?" he asked curiously. It was rare for Addie to wake up so early of her own free will. She walked up to the two of them and started stroking Toothless's head, waiting a few seconds before answering.

"Do you think you can come to this cove on the island after your flight? There's something I want you to see," she asked softly, her face flushing deeper and deeper with every word. Hiccup nodded.

"Sure. What is it?" he replied, wondering just what it was. She winked at him, but didn't say a word.

"Remember, come to the cove when you're done. I'll be waiting." With that, she walked away quickly and went back inside the house. The two boys stared after her, but eventually they recovered and flew off.

_An hour later..._

Adeline's POV

Frostwave had helped me carry the supplies I needed to the cove, and together we had set things up. Some food that was leftover from last night's celebration was set out on a few shields, and Frostwave had helped me put some lanterns up in the big tree at one end of the depression in the earth. Now all that was left was for Hiccup and Toothless to arrive.

"_Today is a very happy day, Addie. Are you sure you do not wish to celebrate in the village?_" Frostwave asked from her spot by the water. She had amused herself by freezing part of the water and clawing random designs into the ice, but now she was bored and wanted to talk. I rolled my eyes and nodded.

"Frostwave, you're the one who reminded me what today was. I want to celebrate with people who are close to me first. Afterwards, maybe I'll go to the village," I replied calmly. Inside, though, I was really, really nervous. I didn't really know how Hiccup was going to react to what I had planned, and I didn't want him to hate me. It's not easy being a girl in love!

Before I could get too nervous, I heard the familiar cry of a Night Fury, and soon Toothless and Hiccup touched down. The boy dismounted and came up to me, looking around in surprise.

"Addie, what is this? What's the occasion?" he asked, waving a hand at the shields of food. I blushed and shrugged with one shoulder.

"Oh, you know, it's just... my birthday," I mumbled that last bit. His eyes widened and he grinned.

"Addie, that's amazing! Why didn't you tell me sooner?" At this, Frostwave began laughing hoarsely. I shot her a glare and turned back to Hiccup, rubbing the short hair in the back sheepishly.

"Well, I kinda... forgot. Frostwave reminded me this morning, and I wanted to celebrate with you guys first. You're the closest people in my life right now," I replied sincerely. He blushed a bit, and I grinned.

"Now, come on! That food isn't gonna eat itself!" I said brightly, pulling him toward the plates of food. Baskets of fish had been set aside for Frostwave and Toothless, and so we all ate happily.

_A few minutes later..._

We had eaten, and played a few games, and finally it was time for the final event.

"Okay, Hiccup, close your eyes," I said, doing my best to keep what I had planned out of my voice. He gave me a weird look, and I returned it in kind.

"Come on. I'm claiming birthday girl privileges. Now do it!" I ordered. Hiccup rolled his eyes, but shut them tightly, and I led him over to a root of the tree. It was almost thick enough to be a tree itself, and so it was perfect for what I was doing.

"Okay, now stand here, and no matter what, don't open your eyes." I reached down, grabbed the rope I had placed here for this exact purpose, and started winding it around him and the root.

"Um, Addie, what are you doing?" he asked, fighting the urge to open his eyes. I grinned widely and looked up. Frostwave had helped me tie a bit of mistletoe above this spot. One of the most beloved of all Blackstone traditions: a couple under some mistletoe must kiss, no matter if they're engaged or not.

So I leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. His eyes flashed open, and I blushed a furious shade of red. The heat coming from my face almost rivaled that of Frostwave's scales.

"Wha-" he began, but I cut him off with another kiss on his lips. It wasn't long, and I was nearly burning up by the time it ended, but it was wonderful. Before Hiccup could react any more, I did the little neck pinch and knocked him out. Okay, I had gotten what I wanted. Now I needed to have some fun.

"Frostwave, bring me that bucket of paint, will you?" I called over my shoulder evilly. She let out a long sigh, but brought it over while Toothless watched everything bemusedly. He probably had no idea what I was planning.

* * *

Slight Perspective Change!

When Hiccup woke up, he had all sorts of little doodles and pictures painted on his face. The rope had been untied while he was asleep, and Toothless was curled up around him protectively. Adeline and Frostwave, along with any sign of their little party, were gone, and all he could remember was eating and being kissed. So he got up, climbed onto Toothless's back, and flew back to Berk, where a new party was being held at the Great Hall.

If he had looked closely at part of the root, he would have seen a small heart with H+A carved inside it.

* * *

Hiccup, narrating

Winter in Berk lasts most of the year. It hangs on with both hands and won't let go. And the only real comforts against the cold are those you keep close to your heart. Turns out, that was the best Snoggletog ever. That year, I gave my best friend a pretty great gift, and Addie gave me something wonderful, too. But you know what? They gave me a better one!

* * *

_But wait! There's more!_

Frostwave's POV

The time for sleep had come. Addie and Starfrost were curled up together on her hammock, while I slept beneath, providing warmth to my strange family. Seeing her reveal her feelings to the Hiccup had brought pleasure into my heart. Perhaps she would take my advice and perform the Silver Horror method of mating, though I doubted it. Humans could be so strange sometimes, with their insistence on odd forms of courting and appropriate times for pre-dating ceremonies.

Anyways, my son was healthy and strong, already able to breathe ice and fly. Yet, there was something to his attitude recently that worried me. I knew what staring off to the horizon pointlessly meant, as well as the purpose behind his insistence on being taught dragon lore so soon. Starfrost was leaving; the Call had summoned him to somewhere far away from me. It saddened me to realize this, but I knew it was necessary. I had felt the Call myself, nine leaf-cycles after I lost Cloudstar, and it had brought me back to Blackstone to find my bondmate, Adeline.

"Starfrost, must you leave so soon?" I growled to him. His pure white scales glistened in the moonlight as he turned solemnly.

"I must, Mother. I have felt the Call. She Who Created Us With Her Breath needs me to do a job for her. That is why I must be taught the lore immediately," he replied, already sounding older than he should. Silver Horrors always aged faster mentally than physically, though humans were far slower than we. Just another way to carry on dragon lore. We could not write it down, and so we had to pass it on in a very special way.

"I understand. Come here, my hatchling," I crooned, lowering my head to his level. He walked over quietly, then lifted his head. We touched horns, and I could feel the history of the dragons pass to my son. Mental transfer was the fastest way to carry on the legacy, though both the recipient and the bestower had to be careful not to move too quickly afterwards. Centuries of dragon lore had just been passed on. Dizziness was often a side effect.

Starfrost stumbled away, then managed to raise his head to meet my warm gaze.

"Thank you, Mother. I will return when the creator wishes it," he growled softly. I dipped my head in reply.

"May the winds support your wings," I hummed out the traditional dragon way to say farewell. He lowered his head in return.

"And may the stars guide you to safe nests," Starfrost answered. My hatchling was ready to face the world, even though he was only six days old. I knew the creator would protect him. She never made a Silver Horror feel the Call without ensuring their safety. And so I watched, helpless to stop it, as my only child flew away to face his destiny alone.

* * *

**Author's Notes: Snoggletog translations!**

**Vaycd uv Ynnejym – Feast of Arrival, as translated in the text**

**vunapaync – forebears**

**Benydeyh – Piratian**

**Cajah Hekrdc uv Fiends – Seven Nights of Fiends, a summer holiday that will be explained more in Burnt Ice**

**So, with that scene with Hiccup and Addie under the mistletoe, I was tempted to make it just a figment of Addie's imagination and have Hiccup make her snap out of it, but I decided against it. What I did was much better, right? Anyways, sorry again for posting so late! I even missed Valentine's Day! What is wrong with me? I missed 2/14! Oh, well. My favorite day is the day after Valentine's, 2/15. Why? Because that is the day all the leftover chocolate goes on sale! Whoo!**

**Now review! I have done my duty by you readers, so you need to do your duty by me. REVIEW!**

**And I'll do my best to post more regularly now! Until we meet again!**

**Wild Cat 214, out!**


	14. Interlude: Eye of the Storm

"_Here comes the rain again_

_Falling on my head like a memory_

_Falling on my head like a new emotion."_

_-Eurythmics, "Here Comes The Rain Again"_

* * *

**Author's Notes: As penance for doing a 14K chapter, I'm giving you a mini chapter! Booyah! It's gonna be fluffy, it's gonna have some girl drama, and it's gonna reveal a bit of Addie's past. Woot!**

**Sorry if I seem hyper. I'm just so excited to be posting again. That, and I may have some sugar and caffeine in my body while I write this.**

**Favorite: AreaderReadingAnEReader; Theinzmann111**

**Follow: Theinzmann111**

**Kenraali – Oh, don't worry. They thought it was wonderful. And I'm kinda sorry about making the last chapter 14K words. I got a bit carried away.**

**MMM – Yup, and I might do Starfrost's adventures, too. Hiccup... well, let's just say I have much planned. Much... *evil laughter echoes through the speakers* ahem. Sorry 'bout that.**

**Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own How To Train Your Dragon. That is the property of DreamWorks. The only things I own are my OC's and dialogue.**

***tear slowly trickles down face***

* * *

Adeline, narrating

It can be really hard to get used to a new home. Believe me, it's happened to me quite a bit. But sometimes, things happen and you want to go back to that old home, even if it's impossible for you right now.

* * *

Adeline's POV

That day dawned bright and early right into my face. My response?

"Go away, sun. No one wants you here right now," came the grumble from beneath my blanket. Frostwave chuckled sleepily and bumped her head against my foot.

"_What's wrong with the sun? I like it,_" she asked, blowing a stream of cold air over me. I pulled back the covers to give her a pointed glare.

"It always wakes me up far too early, Frostwave. It's not right for people to get up so close to dawn. It's almost cruel," I replied, turning my glare to the window. Outside, I could see people taking care of livestock, gardens, and laundry. Just the typical Berk stuff. Naturally, I wanted to play in the leftover snow. There hadn't been much on Blackstone, and when there was, no one had been allowed outside, so this was fairly new to me.

"Come on, Frostwave. We're gonna have a little adventure," I told her, throwing off the covers and jumping out of the hammock. That was when I noticed something was gone. Starfrost had vanished overnight, which may have explained why I had felt a bit colder than I did last night.

"Hey, where's your son?" I asked, sitting down to pull on my boots and glancing at the remaining Silver Horror. She let out a cloud of mist and stared out the window.

"_Starfrost has gone to heed the Call. The creator needs his help with something important, and no Silver Horror can resist the Call for long,_" Frostwave explained mournfully. I couldn't say anything. After our first eventful encounter, she had explained how the Call had brought her back to Blackstone, and how it had ended when she met me. I knew the Call was a serious thing to Silver Horrors, so when she told me about Starfrost, it wasn't hard to understand why he had to leave. I just wished I could have gotten to know him more. Yesterday, after that... thing... with Hiccup, he had decided to fly around the Great Hall snatching food from the plates of other people. If Frostwave hadn't growled at him to stop, I think he might have been run out of town.

"Oh. Well, I hope he does okay out there. The world is a dangerous place," I said at last, pulling back my two long locks of hair and tying them behind my head with a strip of leather, then standing up.

"How do I look?" I asked her. She gave me what must have been an appraising look and huffed some ice into my bangs.

"_As well as ever,_" she replied vaguely. I rolled my eyes and sighed.

"Gee, that was helpful. Well, come on. I've got something to ask Snotlout's dad." And with that, we both set off on another exciting adventure.

You know, I should have just stayed in bed that day.

* * *

As soon as I took one step outside, it was obvious something was up. Most of my group of friends were slouching in the plaza, their dragons unusually sedate, and Hiccup was among them. I went up to him first.

"Hiccup, what's going on?" I asked, looking around. The only ones missing were Snotlout and Hookfang, probably sleeping in after the festivities of Snoggletog and my birthday. Vikings may not be the nicest people at first, but man, they can throw a party.

He smiled at me and waved a hand at the snow.

"My dad wants us to clean all this snow up and get it out of the village before it can pile too high," he explained. I nodded.

"Okay, that doesn't sound too hard." He shook his head.

"It isn't just that. He also wants us to help take down the decorations. And since Snotlout isn't here, we have to do his share of the work as well," Hiccup said exasperatedly. A groan escaped from the other teenagers, and I joined them wholeheartedly. I didn't want to clean up this snow. I wanted to play in it, damn it!

But, sadly, it was not to be, and soon we were all scooping up snow and dumping it into baskets. The dragons were helping by taking the baskets away and dumping them out far away from the village, and I was helping by getting the snow off of roofs with Frostwave. A few bits landed on the ground, and my brain started to go into devil mode. Reaching down, I scooped up some snow and patted it into a ball, then threw it at Tuffnut. It hit him in the back of the head, knocking him to the ground, and his head popped back up indignantly.

"Okay, who threw that?" he asked. When no one spoke up, Tuff made his own snowball and threw it at his sister, who had her back turned while she gathered more snow up. What ensued was the most epic snowball fight I've ever had, and the first one of my life. We all got into it, and woe to any villager that passed by!

Somewhere along the way, we formed teams, with me, Hiccup, and Astrid on one side, and Fishlegs and the Twins on the other, and my team was winning. It was a shallow victory, mostly because Ruff and Tuff kept attacking each other instead of us, and Fishlegs wasn't that good at throwing snowballs, but it was still fun. Of course, that's when I heard the man's voice.

"Snotlout, you call that sheep lugging?" Spitelout said derisively, his accent thick like many of the other adults. But despite that, his voice was really familiar. I knew it was impossible, but somehow I knew that voice. I had heard it when I was a little girl, before Blackstone.

Now I just needed to know if Spitelout had ever gone to Yurasted about 11 years ago.

My train of thought was broken when something cold and wet slammed into the side of my face. The force of it knocked me down, stunned me, and all I could think was, 'What the blazes just happened?'

"Addie? Are you okay?" Hiccup asked. I sat up, brushed the remains of the snowball off, and glared at the other team.

"I'm fine. Okay, which one of you fools threw that?" I replied, standing up and folding my arms across my chest. Ruff and Tuff pointed at each other, and I glanced to Fishlegs. His nervous glances at Tuffnut told me everything.

"Prepare to be annihilated," I growled eagerly, getting a snowball ready and chucking it at him. He yelped as it smacked his face, and I laughed evilly.

"That's what you get for messing with me. Let's get 'em!" I shouted a battle cry, and Astrid smirked with her own arsenal of snow. I could hear Hiccup sigh and almost picture him pinching the bridge of his nose, but I didn't care. Today was a good day to fight!

"What in Thor's name is going on here?"

...Or not.

I stopped mid-throw to look at the chief. He had his arms folded and a disapproving scowl on his face, and I realized I had screwed up.

"Cuh uv y vmebbehk ryssanrayt oyg aydehk vecr kidc eh y tnykuh hacd," I swore, dropping the snow.

3rd Person POV: Hiccup

Stoick was watching all the teens grimly, and Addie smiled weakly.

"Uh, hi, chief. We were just... um... relocating the snow," she offered up this as an excuse, but he wasn't buying it.

"Is that so? Well, then, I expect all this snow to be 'relocated' before any of you can have breakfast," he replied before walking away purposefully. As one, all sighed deeply and went back to work, the good mood driven away by the seriousness of his dad.

* * *

They were about halfway down when it happened. Addie had lifted her left arm up to toss a pile of snow behind her, and Tuffnut had said, "Hey, Addie, what's that on your arm?"

The entire group froze like Frostwave had breathed ice on them. She turned white as the snow around them, her eyes wide with shock, and looked at him.

"...What?" she asked, her tone very quiet and even. He went up to her and pointed at a slightly darker, stretched oval of skin on the underside of her left arm.

"This. Is it dirt?" he asked. The tension in the air drifted away like smoke, and she relaxed.

"No. It's a birthmark. See? Frostwave, come here and lick it so they can see it's not dirt," Addie replied, holding out her arm. Several brisk strokes of a black tongue later, all could see that it was, in fact, a birthmark. She pulled her arm back and dried it off on her shirt, then looked at all of them.

"I also have another one right here," she added, pointing to a spot just below her right armpit. This one was darker, about the size of a coin, and a bit more awkward to look at. When they had looked their fill, she gestured to the others.

"Anyways, let's stop looking at me and get to work. I'm a hungry girl," she said, blushing a bit and depositing more snow into a basket. They all agreed, and work began once again.

Adeline's POV

Oh, that had been close. I thought Tuffnut was asking about my scars, and there is no way I'm telling these guys how I got them. Not yet, anyways.

I was about to finish up one plot of snow when I felt someone tap me on my left shoulder. It bothered me, but not as much as if they'd placed their hand on it, and so I turned. It was Astrid.

"Can we talk?" she asked in a hushed tone. I glanced at Hiccup, Fishlegs, and the Twins, hoping one of them would see me, but they were all facing in other directions. No help from them, anyways. I sighed and nodded.

"Sure. Let's talk." The blonde girl shook her head.

"Not here. Follow me," she said, putting down her shovel and leading me into an alley behind several houses. We stood there quietly, and I wasn't sure what to say. Finally, Astrid sighed and looked at me grimly.

"Addie, what is Hiccup to you?" Astrid asked me, folding her arms in front of her. I looked at her serious face, stunned.

"W-what?" I sputtered, trying to understand where this was coming from. She sighed and repeated the question. My mind raced as I tried to figure out how to word my answer. What was Hiccup to me? Easy to think about, hard to talk about.

"Hiccup... is the one I love," I replied finally, never taking my eyes away from her. She scowled.

"Why? You barely know him," the blonde girl shot back. That got me really thinking. Why did I love Hiccup? There were the obvious reasons, like how he was smart and loved dragons, but there was more to it than that. If I only liked him because of those qualities, then Fishlegs could easily have been someone I liked. Why did I love him?

Once I realized it, it was almost pathetic how long it took me to find the answer.

"Hiccup is one of the people that understands me, and one of the people I never want to lose. I've lost a lot in my life, Astrid, but I refuse to have him be next. So if you want him, I'm sorry, but you'll have to fight me," came my answer. My rival was silent, and I didn't dare say anything else. The air was thick with tension, so much so that it seemed like I could just take my knife and cut it, and it dragged on with the silence until I nearly couldn't take it anymore. Naturally, right when I was about to say something I would probably end up regretting, she chose to speak.

"Okay, then. I'll be seeing you around, Addie. Thanks for the talk," Astrid said evenly before walking away. I stared at her in shock, mostly because I hadn't expected that, and that was how Ruffnut and Tuffnut found me a few minutes later.

"Hey, Addie. Hiccup is looking for you," Ruff said, grinning widely. When I didn't answer (for obvious reasons), the two of them shared a look and glanced back at me.

"Um, Addie, are you trying to be a statue right now? 'Cause you're doing a really good job of it," Tuff asked, waving a hand in front of me. My head slowly turned to look at them, and I tried mouthing words. Only mush came out, but I finally managed to regain my tongue.

"Did you see that?" I asked disbelievingly, pointing after Astrid. They shrugged and followed my finger.

"See what? We didn't see anything. Oh, and Hiccup seemed kind of upset. You might want to hurry," Ruff said devilishly. With that cryptic statement, the two of them ran away like the co-conspirators they were. Still somewhat in shock, I managed to find my way back to the place we had been working, where Hiccup and Fishlegs were waiting. In the time it had taken Astrid and I to have that heart-to-heart chat, they had managed to get rid of all the snow here, leaving a clear road for carts and people. Hiccup was scowling at the sky, Toothless right beside him, and Fishlegs had his nose buried in the Book of Dragons. I swear, that guy always has it. Not that I can blame him. Sure, the whole "kill on sight" thing got old really fast, but the illustrations are nice, and the information is useful.

When he saw me, Hiccup walked up and put a hand on my right shoulder.

"You okay? You and Astrid disappeared and no one knew where you had gone," he asked. Underlying that, I could tell he was also asking if I was okay with the whole birthmark thing. I nodded and managed a smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It didn't bother me that much, and we were just talking," I replied vaguely. He furrowed his brow, took away his hand, and folded his arms.

"Talking? What about?" he asked curiously. I thought about it and blushed furiously.

"Um... nothing you need to worry about. Just girl things. Anyways, are we done cleaning? Because I am very hungry right now, and I have a few things I want to ask Spitelout before the day is out," I said quickly, hurrying toward Fishlegs. The boys looked at me in surprise.

"Why do you want to talk to Spitelout?" the stockier boy said. Before I could answer, someone interrupted.

"Duh, because she understands that the Jorgensons are the best," drawled the son of the guy I was looking for. Stifling a disgruntled groan, I turned and looked at Snotlout. The most egotistical person I've ever met – and that's saying something – was sitting on Hookfang and was watching us with mild interest. When he saw me looking, he started flexing. It took all the strength I had not to gag.

"Actually, it's 'cause I need to ask him something important," I corrected. He ignored me and glanced at Hiccup.

"I guess Addie has decided she likes real men, right, Hiccup?" Snotlout jeered. Okay, that was going way too far, even for him. Hiccup was just about to answer when we heard a mocking laugh behind us. All four of us humans turned, while the dragons just watched impartially, to see Astrid and the Twins had joined us while we were talking.

"Yeah, because _you're_ a real man, Snotlout," Astrid replied. Tuffnut and Ruffnut snickered at her statement, and a smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. If nothing else, I could always rely on Astrid to put Snotlout in his place. Of course, he seemed unfazed by it (probably because he couldn't detect the sarcasm) and grinned at us all.

"Of course I am." With that, he dismounted his Nightmare and walked up to us. Hiccup chose this time to speak.

"So why are you looking for Spitelout? I thought you avoided him," he asked me, leaning up against Toothless. Frostwave hummed in agreement.

"_Hiccup has a good point. You usually avoid the loudmouthed father of this idiotic hatchling,_" she growled. I smirked at that, but then my face went serious again.

"Well, you know I wasn't born on Blackstone, right, Hiccup? The thing is, before I went to Blackstone Island, I lived in this small town called Yurasted with my parents. While I was playing one day with some kids there, a man with brown hair and these weird brown clothes ran by, with a redheaded woman going next to him in some _really_ weird clothes, and all I could hear him saying was something about getting to the tardis, whatever that is. His voice sounded a lot like Spitelout's, so I was going to ask him if he ever went there or had relatives there," I explained quickly, ignoring the surprised exclamations of the other teens. I hadn't told them I was an Ytubdaa, or why I lived on Blackstone, so I was just going to let Hiccup explain. It would be easier for everyone.

"Okay, when did you live in Yurasted?" Snotlout asked. I raised my eyebrows skeptically, and he gave me a wounded look.

"Hey, just because I don't seem like I pay attention, doesn't mean I don't," he retorted. I sighed resignedly and told him it was about eleven years ago, because I was five when it happened.

"Then no, he didn't. That was back when we killed dragons, so he would have stayed on Berk for that. Besides, I would have heard if I had some relatives in you're a stead, or whatever that town was called." Well, that was a load off my chest, metaphorically speaking. Although... who had those strange people been, then?

* * *

When Stoick came by to see our handiwork, he gave us a rare smile in reward and let us eat breakfast. While we were eating, Hiccup decided to pry into my past a bit more.

"So, uh, why did you go to Blackstone, Addie? And why weren't your parents there?" he asked casually over a mouthful of yak stew. We seemed to be having that a lot. I nearly choked on my bite of the meal, and it was only because Frostwave slammed the back of her fin into my back that I survived. I took a few relieved gulps of water before answering.

"I just did, okay, Hiccup? That's all. End of story," I replied harshly. I didn't mean for it to come out that way, but the story of how I went to Blackstone was always a touchy one, much like my scars. It was better if you just ignored it and moved on. That was how I had lived for the past eleven years, and that was how it was going to stay.

Hiccup decided to back off for now, and I was grateful for that. I had noticed he had avoided touching my left shoulder for a while now, so he understood that there was something going on that really bugged me. Every now and then, though, he would do something like this and try to find out more about my past. The past didn't matter. It was over and done with, and the only thing that counted was what I did now and what I would do.

"Addie..." he began, but at this I pushed back my chair and looked at Stoick. He had remained silent the whole time, merely watching us passively while we spoke, and when I moved his eyes followed me curiously. Eyes had always been important to me. With dragons, you could tell how they were feeling. With humans, you could see who they really were. Most of the people on Blackstone, except for Simon and a few older people, had cold, cruel eyes that scared me. The chief of Berk did not. They were harsh, sometimes, but they could also be caring. That was how they were now.

"May I be excused, please?" I said loudly, overriding Hiccup's protests. He nodded.

"Of course, Adeline. Just make sure you don't get into trouble today," Stoick conceded. I thanked him and stormed out of there, Frostwave following me closely.

3rd Person POV: Hiccup

Hiccup knew he had pushed too far. Whenever mention of her parents or her childhood was brought up, Addie always did this. She closed herself off and removed herself from the conversation. But who could blame him? He wanted to know what had happened to her. He wanted to know who caused her scars, both physical and mental, and go right up to them, and... well, he wasn't sure what he was going to do, but it would be drastic and potentially violent.

"Son, sometimes it's better to wait until a person is ready to tell you something," his father said sagely. Hiccup looked at his father, then sighed, placing his forehead on the table in defeat.

"I just... I want to help Addie, but she isn't making it any easier," he replied, his voice muffled by the table. He didn't see his father get up and come over to him, but the reassuring pat from his huge hand told him everything.

"Don't worry, Hiccup. She'll tell you when she's good and ready. Until then, you have to be supportive of her. Give her time," Stoick told him. He lifted his head and gave his father a confused look.

"Since when did you know all this?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. The older man harrumphed indignantly.

"I'll have you know that many people have come to me for relationship advice. It's part of my job as the chief, you know, to make sure potential partners are on the same page. Now get going. I think Gobber wanted you to work in the shop today," he said gruffly. He took a few steps toward the door, but stopped halfway.

"Hiccup, be careful. Addie may not be like the other pirates, but she's still had their training, and she knows how to hurt people," Stoick said cryptically before leaving in the same way as Addie. Hiccup sighed and looked at Toothless, who had been watching this whole exchange bemusedly.

"Well, bud, looks like we're just gonna have to wait," he said affectionately, scratching Toothless behind the ear flaps and making the Night Fury hum pleasantly.

_Later that same day..._

Hiccup was flying toward the cove with Toothless. Fishlegs had seen Addie and Frostwave go in this direction, and he wanted to apologize to the girl. As they passed over the hole in the ground, he could see a flash of silver that wasn't water. He realized, with a start, that Addie and Frostwave were _fighting_, and not just play fighting, but real combat.

"Come on, bud, we need to get down there," he said worriedly. Toothless growled in agreement and dove, the shriek of air rushing past them the only sign of their passing. It made Addie and Frostwave stop their battle, just for a moment, then they went back to trading blows. Hiccup watched, confused, as he realized they were both dodging the others' attack, then dismounted and stepped forward.

"Addie, what's going on?" Hiccup asked in confusion.

"Can't talk. In the zone," Addie grunted, ducking as Frostwave's tail slashed over her head and kicking out. The dragon just jumped back a bit and swiped with her front legs, briefly rearing up a bit to do so. The girl took her chance to dodge the claws and tapped her Silver Horror's chest. With that, they stopped fighting and looked at him.

"What is it?" she asked, a lot calmer than when she had left this morning. He pointed in the direction of the village.

"It's nearly dinnertime. Have you been fighting Frostwave this whole time?" he asked incredulously. She blinked in surprise.

"Really? I didn't know we had spent so long. But that's what happens when you're trying to break a tie, right, Frostwave?" Addie replied, rapping her knuckles against the neck of her dragon. She crooned in reply, and Addie blushed.

"Frostwave, I am not practicing for... for that! Jeez! I outta wash your mouth out with soap," she grumbled, her face a furious pink. Hiccup didn't bother asking. Whatever it was, she wasn't going to tell him, and besides, he really didn't want to know. But he still needed to say something.

"Addie, look, about earlier..." Hiccup began, but Adeline shook her head.

"It's okay, Hiccup. I know you weren't trying to do something bad. It's just that I really don't want to talk about that part of my life right now," she said calmly, going up to Toothless and rubbing behind his head. The Night Fury crooned happily as she sighed.

"Just... please don't ask again. Please." Hiccup let out the breath he had been holding and nodded.

"Whatever you say, milady. Now come on. It's gonna be roast chicken tonight," he told her, climbing into Toothless's saddle. Frostwave growled something to her rider, and Addie nodded. She turned back to him and grinned sheepishly.

"Um, Frostwave wants to spend some more time here, so she wants me to go back with you guys. Is that alright?" she asked, holding her arms behind her back. Hiccup smiled and held out a hand.

"Well, come on, then. With the state everyone else is in, we better hurry before the food is all gone," he said, pulling her up behind him. Frostwave dipped her head and growled, Toothless did the same, and the Night Fury flew off toward the village.

Frostwave's POV

Was it my fault Addie had rejected the Silver Horror method of mating? What was wrong with catching a tuna and bringing it to your prospective lifemate before taking a flight and mating? It had worked for me and Cloudstar, and it would work for Addie. She might have to borrow my wings, though, for the last part.

Why were humans so complicated sometimes?

No matter. I was going to give them some time alone, and Toothless understood my need to stay behind. There was something... off... about the cove, and I was determined to find out what.

I sniffed the air. It was cold and crisp, as always, but there was something underlying the scent of the pines and the water and the rest of the forest. Something... darker.

My nose led me to a patch of dead grass, gone for weeks, but with no signs of new growth. That was odd, as was the fact that it was very close to where Addie and I had sparred the first time. If I tried, I could still smell the metallic tang of my bondmate's blood, and with it, a faint trace of Darknesse.

She was moving again. She Who Serves the Darknesse had tried, before, to defeat She Who Stands On the Side of Lighte and She Who Created Us With Her Breath, but the war had come to a stalemate with their imprisonment in the Place Between Life and Death. Now she was seeking to make her influence in the world known again, and even if she could not interact herself with these things, there were other ways of manipulating the world. Her agents were everywhere. Now she was interested in Addie, but for what? Why would she seek to control Addie?

All these and more cluttered up my mind like the nests of Those Who Hunt For Metal, but still I could not reason why She Who Serves the Darknesse would want to influence Addie. Maybe it was because of her Siren blood...

* * *

**Author's Notes: Piping hot translations, here! Ready to be read by viewers like you!**

**Cuh uv y vmebbehk ryssanrayt oyg aydehk vecr kidc eh y tnykuh hacd – Son of a flipping hammerhead yak eating fish guts in a dragon nest (I'm gonna get really weird with Addie swearing, so bear with me)**

**I'm just shameless, you know. I tried, but I couldn't resist a Doctor Who reference here. What can I say? The fangirl side of me slipped through.**

**For those of you wondering, Hiccup and Addie aren't gonna have a smooth relationship. Things happen, and have happened, and will happen, and it's gonna be a roller-coaster of drama and dragons. Frostwave isn't gonna be much help, either. Being a dragon, and one that considers itself superior to many humans and dragons, she thinks Hiccup and Addie should just get together already and cut out all the human drama.**

**But Frostwave, that's where the fun is! *cue dramatic musical climax*  
**

**As always, reviews are welcome. Next time, we're getting into the Riders of Berk episodes! Woot woot!**

**Wild Cat 214, out!**


	15. Chapter 13: Trouble in Paradise, Pt 1

_"__No one knows what it's like_

_To be the bad man,_

_To be the sad man_

_Behind blue eyes."_

_-The Who, "Behind Blue Eyes"_

* * *

**Author's Notes: Behold, the beginning of Riders of Berk!**

**Okay, so I apologize profusely for the super-late update. I got caught up in other things (like other stories and school), and I wasn't sure how to begin this chapter. But I'm BACK! WOOT WOOT!**

**Favorite – 1412Kaishin4869; darkraizerGx1**

**Follow – 1412Kaishin4869; Trtl35462; XannaAngel; darkraizerGx1**

**MMM – A very evil thing is after her, one that also appears in some of my other fics. I've got quite the plot going regarding Deorca and my OC's, and Lucia, as well. As for Astrid, well, let's just say that she's definitely not gonna make it easy for those two ;)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD, blah blah blah, only my OC's are mine. Yeah, I'm getting just as tired of this as you.**

**Key:**

**Bold: Translated Benydeyh**

_Italic: Frostwave's translated lines (when from Addie's POV); human language (when Frostwave's POV); emphasis during normal speech_

**_Italic Bold: Translated Benydeyh (when Frostwave's POV)_**

Normal: normal Norse; emphasis during flashbacks or when Frostwave is speaking

* * *

Hiccup, narrating

This is Berk. For generations, it was Viking against dragon for generations. The battles were ferocious... then one day, everything changed. I met Toothless, and together we showed people here that instead of fighting dragons, we can ride them, live with them, even train them.

Adeline's POV

_Icy rain beat down on my skin, soaking me to the bone, and flashes of harsh light illuminated the blackness. I heard a moan behind me and helplessly turned to see the source. My father was reaching out to me, a gleaming silver sword sticking out of his chest, a woman lying on the ground behind him like a rag doll. Mom... Dad..._

_ "__Adeline..." he groaned before slumping to the ground. Behind him was Gale, a new, shining blade in his hand. But that wasn't right. Gale hadn't been there._

_ "_**Listening to Lucia will only bring heartache and pain to you, Guardian. Give up on her guidance, and you won't have to face this,**_" __a woman crooned coldly, her voice oily and dark. I couldn't see anyone else but the Blackstone pirate before me. Where had her voice come from?_

_Hiccup appeared by my side and tried fighting Gale, but the older man threw a knife at him and hit him in the side, right where his blade had cut him before. I tried reaching out for him, but he turned as pale as death and collapsed, turning into a pile of dust that was wiped away by the rain even as his slim body slumped to the deck. I growled in desperate fury and glared at Gale, only to see him turn into something else. A monster like a wolf, a bear, and a dragon, combined into one horrifying being. It snarled viciously, raising one clawed paw in preparation to pounce._

_Frostwave and Toothless leaped out from behind me, spreading their wings wide in a show of protection, only to be cut down by something horrifying. It looked like me from when I first came to Berk, only shadowy with glowing purple eyes. There was nothing but malice in those haunting orbs, and as she dove to cut me down, I screamed in fear._

"ADDIE!"

I jerked awake and hit my head against Hiccup's forehead. We both recoiled from the sudden pain, and as I held my hand to the spot, I could see Frostwave and Stoick both looking at me in concern, and Hiccup had an arm lightly wrapped around my shoulder.

"W-what are you guys doing in here?" I said, still shaking from it. That dream had been so real... and somehow I knew it wasn't just my head. That woman was proof. My gut told me that was Lady Deorca, like the golden lady had warned me about. But why was she telling me not to listen to Lucia, whoever that was?

"We... we heard you scream," Hiccup admitted, fidgeting a bit. I looked from him to Frostwave, and then to Stoick. That part of the dream when the shadow me had attacked... I had actually screamed?

"It was very quiet, but Hiccup said he couldn't sleep, and so he heard you cry out," Stoick explained. I stared at my hands. What could I tell them? That it was just a nightmare? That would only be telling part of the truth, and even I didn't know what the rest was.

"Are you alright, Addie?" Hiccup asked. I nodded and let Frostwave wrap her head around me.

"_Do not cry, Addie. You have good people around you,_" she hummed gently, letting little puffs of cold air hit my back as she breathed. I just held onto her, trying to calm down. What was that dream about? Was it a warning that those I loved would die if I kept listening to someone called Lucia? Why now?

Oh, this was too much for my head. I needed to calm down and get my act together again.

"I'm fine. Just give me a few minutes, okay?" I replied finally, taking a few deep breaths. They still seemed concerned, but a simple growl from Frostwave got them to leave.

And yet, something told me that wasn't the last time I would hear from Deorca.

_A few hours later..._

Frostwave and I joined the others on a sea stack overlooking the vast ocean. Astrid glared at me, but it was just the usual story. I was used to her by now. Really, I was used to everyone, even Snotlout's ego and the Twins' comical stupidity. Hiccup smiled at me comfortingly, then looked at everyone else.

"Okay, guys. Best Trick Competition. Who's up first?" he asked cheerfully, oblivious to the looks Astrid was giving me. Ah, ignorance truly is bliss.

I wasn't really sure how to act around Astrid anymore. At first, she had been hostile toward me – for understandable reasons – and now she was just being weird. Whenever all of us were together, she would always give Hiccup and I a hard time, and sometimes I would see her just smiling smugly. People were weird. Hence my preference for dragon company.

"Uh..." Fishlegs began confidently, drawing me back to the competition. As usual, Snotlout cut him off.

"Me!" he said eagerly. I shook my head subtly and folded my arms across my chest. Here they go again.

"Actually, I think it's-" Fishlegs tried again.

"Me!" Snotlout said, a little more firmly than before. At this rate, we'd be here all day. Or maybe that's just me being pessimistic again.

"Sweet baby Thor in a thunderstorm, GO!" Astrid shouted at him, gesturing to the open sky. I grinned at this. If Snotlout ever got out of hand, at least we could count on Astrid to put him in his place. And if she didn't work, then we had the Monstrous Nightmare the burly boy was straddling. It was so nice seeing other dragons on a regular basis. I love Frostwave to death, but sometimes a girl just needs some variety in her life.

"Oh, don't worry, we'll go. And when we go, Hookfang and I are gonna light the sky on-"

The Monstrous Nightmare chose that moment to dive off of the sea stack, making Snotlout clutch his horns desperately.

"FIRE! Oh, no!" he screamed. I had to hold back a laugh at the sight. This was almost as funny as that time Simon had eaten some of my cooking when I was ten. Poor guy looked like a fish, mainly because of how sour it was. Hey, I may not be the world's greatest cook, but at least I didn't burn the water, like some of those kids were doing. It's just that the food I make isn't usually fit for human consumption. Anyways, back to the stunts.

At one point, Hookfang flew sideways, and Snotlout's helmet was scraping against the stone, sending off sparks as they went. After that, I had to look away. It was too painful to watch Hookfang teach his rider a lesson.

When the Monstrous Nightmare finally landed, Snotlout panting desperately, I had to put a hand up to cover the smirk on my face. I'm sorry, but this was too funny not to laugh at. The boy looked at himself, stunned, and we looked at him blankly.

"I'm alive...? I'm alive!" he cheered, just before remembering we were all here. Snotlout composed himself and cleared his throat.

"Of course I am," he amended, shaking his arms for emphasis. I rolled my eyes, and I'm pretty sure Frostwave was laughing. Otherwise, there was no way to explain her soft shaking.

"It's my turn! Ready, Meatlug? Here we go!" Fishlegs said cheerfully. The Gronckle panted excitedly, hovered off the ground, and started flying slowly forward. The two of them turned left and kept turning until they had gone in a circle, looping around the Twins. When they landed in their original spot, the meaty boy cheered.

"Yes! New personal best!" he said cheerfully. I nearly fell off of Frostwave. _That_ was a personal best? I know Gronckles aren't the best stunt dragons, but still. That was very sad.

Apparently, the Twins wanted to go next, judging by the way they were arguing now. Zipplebacks were a bit weird to me (the thought of a dragon with two heads has always freaked me out; I mean, how do they even work?), but having Ruffnut and Tuffnut ride one made sense, in a twisted sort of way. Each got a head, but still remained together. It was kinda creepy how much they were together, though. I guess that's 'cause I've never had any real siblings. Simon was kinda my brother, but not really, and even then we hadn't been joined at the hip like these two were.

"My turn!" Ruff shouted. Tuffnut rolled his eyes.

"No, MY turn!" he countered. They probably would have started fighting if Hiccup hadn't intervened.

"Guys, same dragon," he reminded them. The two of them stopped and looked at the heads of their dragon.

"Oh, right," Tuff said. Barf and Belch flew up into the air, and at first, everything seemed to be going fine. Since this was the Twins, I wasn't very surprised when it went downhill.

"Go left!" he shouted.

"No, right!" she countered.

"N-no, right!" he corrected.

"No, left!" she yelled.

The confusing orders of Ruffnut and Tuffnut alternating directions made them narrowly dodge one sea stack that loomed up in front of them. The Zippleback got fed up with it and flung them off their backs, sending the teenagers high, high, high into the sky. Frostwave tensed beneath me, ready to help them, but I put a hand to her head. Barf and Belch wouldn't just kill their riders, frustrating though they may be.

"OH, NO! WHOA! THIS IS AWESOME AND SCARY!" Tuff screamed as they fell toward the ocean. Just before they hit the salty waves and ended up as grease spots on the surface, Barf and Belch caught them in their mouths and gently tossed them back up into the saddles. The Zippleback flew up to rejoin us, their riders breathing raggedly as they tried to recover from the near-death experience, and landed heavily.

"We almost died!" Ruff exclaimed, panting to regain her breath.

"Yeah, I know... go again?" her brother replied eagerly. They both sat up, and I was just about ready to slap my face. This was going to get old real quick, enjoyable as it had been. Thankfully, Astrid stepped in.

"Hey! It's my turn," she interjected. The young woman twisted to look at Hiccup and I. "You might wanna take notes. Let's go! Yah!"

Stormfly reacted with admirable speed to her rider's exclamations and quickly flew into the air, off the stack we were perched on, then descended toward the sea.

"Okay, Stormfly, tail flip!" I heard her command. The Nadder obliged by dipping her tail into the water as they flew, creating a path of waves and foam along their movement. They went higher, and Astrid shouted, "Now twirl!"

Her dragon partner rolled like a barrel down a hill (I've been in one of those, once. It was both the most fun I've had with other people on Blackstone and the most terrifying ten minutes of my life). They jetted forward, the move giving them a quick burst of momentum, and Astrid gave one more command.

"Quick, upwards spiral!"

They spun up even higher, and I had to admit, they were a great team. Astrid and Stormfly were perfect partners. Come to think of it, nearly everyone seemed well-matched in their dragon friends, especially when it came to attitudes. Huh. That couldn't have been a coincidence.

"All right, Stormfly!" Astrid praised her dragon brightly. When they landed, it seemed only appropriate that we clap. That had definitely been more impressive than Snotlout's failure, Fishlegs' circle, and the Twins' mishap. Of course, a certain Jorgenson didn't take it too well.

"Yeah, but can you do it without the dragon?" he asked petulantly. Astrid's reply was a nice punch in the shoulder. I grinned. Yup. She could definitely keep Snotlout in his place, going by his pained yelp.

Finally, it was my turn. I had been looking forward to showing off a couple of Frostwave's stunts since we got out, and now was my chance.

"You ready, girl?" I asked Frostwave.

"_Always,_" she growled in agreement and dove off of the sea stack. I held on tight, letting Frostwave do her thing. When we were a few yards from the water, Frostwave spat out some ice. It froze the ocean, and we pulled up just enough to skid across the ice and create a swirly design using her claws and tail. At the edge of the frozen patch of sea she beat her wings once, powerfully, and we rocketed into the air.

My best friend then took a deep breath once we were high enough, looked back the way we had come, and released a cloud of ice. It drifted down like snow, and that was when I let go of her horns.

"Now, just like we practiced," I whispered. She grumbled, but allowed me to slip off the edge of her neck and fall toward the cloud. I passed through the stinging ice crystals quickly to see all the other riders were watching in horror. Just moments from impact with the salty sea, Frostwave burst past the ice, making it spread across the area like a snow flurry, and slipped underneath to catch me with her back. I sat up, shimmied up her neck, and grabbed her horns again. We landed with a soft thud to see everyone watching us silently.

"What? I had a lot of time to work on that when I was twelve. Blackstone didn't really offer much in the ways of games for its kids," I said defensively. It was true. Once basic lessons and work were done, all the kids were given a few hours of free time to do whatever before dinner. I had spent my time flying with my dragon and getting away from the other pirates for a short while, and that meant learning as much as I could. Even if it hadn't been much, I still knew things about her that I'm pretty sure were in no human books, not even the Book of Dragons. When I saw the deplorable amount of information on Silver Horrors in there, I had agreed with Hiccup and Fishlegs to help them with more on that entry, and to help with the new drawings. While the images were... interesting, the actual artwork was a bit shabby and dark.

They didn't seem entirely convinced, but Astrid turned away and motioned to Hiccup. It was his turn to impress the judges. And by judges, I mean us.

"Looks like we've got our work cut out for us there, bud," he murmured to Toothless, leaning forward to pat the Night Fury on the head. He warbled curiously, then spread his ample wings.

With one quick beat, they shot straight up, then let gravity do the rest as they dove just inches from the sea stack's side. I craned my neck, almost afraid to see what would happen. Right before they made contact with the watery death below, they pulled up and sped forward faster than I had ever seen. Their leveling out made the waves part in a few foamy crests in their wake, and as they swerved between the other piles of rock sticking out of the ocean like spikes, I whistled appreciatively. For a boy with a metal leg and a dragon with a replacement fin, they could really control their movements.

Eventually, I saw them heading towards two stacks linked at the top by some sort of natural bridge. What were they doing?

My question was soon answered when I saw Hiccup unhook his leg mere moments from the bridge and jump onto it, leaving Toothless to glide beneath it. He ran forward, moving pretty fast, thanks to momentum, and jumped off the other end right when Toothless was beneath him. With practiced ease, he slipped his leg back into the stirrup and shot up toward the sky. That was incredible.

Toothless let out a few plasma blasts in triumph, which exploded above us like one of the things from the East that Johann had brought to Blackstone when I was younger. They had patrols and spies in nearly every town nearby, making sure no one would be around to see the fireworks, as he had called them, blow up in pretty, colorful spheres. That's what his blasts were like just then.

"They're still the best," Astrid admitted, though not as reluctantly as I would have thought. From what I've seen of her, she's pretty competitive. That she would so quickly admit defeat was... weird. But nice.

"_For now,_" Frostwave grumbled, but it wasn't malevolently. She's always liked a challenge, and beating Hiccup and Toothless was just her style. And mine. Never let it be said that Adeline the Agile isn't up for a little competition.

Hiccup and Toothless flew over us, heading back toward the village, and we followed quickly. Stoick may have been chief, but Hiccup was our little group's leader, whether someone (I'm looking at you, Snotlout) liked it or not.

Hiccup, narrating

Yep, dragons. Most people on Berk would say life is better since we made peace with them. Unfortunately, dragons are still, well, dragons.

3rd Person POV: Hiccup

Hiccup and Toothless landed in the middle of Berk to chaos incarnate. A Gronckle chased a yak through the streets. Terrible Terrors stole some chicken from a woman who kept scolding the reptiles and yelling at them to let go of her food, although in the end she had to settle for a huffy "Dragons!" when they emerged victorious in the struggle for food. A Nadder was happily sitting on top of one man's house, ignoring his cries to "get off my roof, you pest!" Another Viking man and a Monstrous Nightmare were fighting over a burlap sack of apples (the dragon came out on top), despite the man's shouts to let go. Finally, another Deadly Nadder was in pursuit of a flock of chickens, disregarding the clothesline that held a Viking woman's underwear that caught on its folded wings.

"Give me back my dainties, dragon!" she yelled indignantly. Moments later, the people who were out in the open ran for the safety of their houses and the covered areas. Hiccup watched it with confusion and dread. This was definitely not good.

"Incoming!"

"Look out!"

"Dragon poo!"

The shouts of the villagers alerted him to the danger, and Hiccup looked up hopelessly to see dozens of dragons flying by overhead. Glowing green chunks were falling: dragon feces, fresh from the beasts themselves.

"Ew, gross, gross, gross, gross! Oh, poop! Oh, that's disgusting!" he cried out, backing away and avoiding any of the chunks that got near him. His steps took him under the shield umbrellas of Mulch and Bucket, kindhearted fishermen who weren't exactly the sharpest tools in the shed.

"Hey, Mulch. Hey, Bucket. Sorry about the, uh..." he trailed off, pointing up at the subject in question.

"Every day at three. They're regular, at least. A tip of the cap," Bucket replied amiably, putting his hook up to the metal bucket that was always on his head. Mulch nodded.

"Better than the days when it was 'kill or be killed.' Hey, we've got some fish for that father of yours. Bucket, give the boy the cod," Mulch added gently, giving his friend a pointed look. The blond man nodded and held up a sack, but it was empty. A hole in the bottom answered his question as to where it went. After all, fish can't chew holes in canvas sacks. Certain reptiles which shall remain anonymous, however, can.

"I ate it already? Did I enjoy it?" Bucket asked, confused by the nonexistent state of the cod. Hiccup shook his head nervously.

"Um, no, uh, actually, Bucket, I'm afraid the, uh..." he said, looking behind them. A Terrible Terror had the cod in its mouth, and it hissed warningly at them before dragging it behind a house. More Terrors flew to join it, and soon tiny bits of fish could be seen flying out from their spot.

Hiccup, narrating (again)

Most of us here on Berk are willing to take the good with the bad. But there are those who will never accept the dragons and will do anything to drive them away.

Adeline's POV

Watching people store food for the winter was kinda interesting. It reminded me of the game Simon and I would make out of stacking our things in the small cubbies we got during training. We'd try to see who could make the most neat, completely filled rows in them with all of our pieces of equipment and books and toys and whatnot. Usually he won. I'm good at sorting things out. I'm not good at putting them away.

"Stand the elk up in the back. The fishing boats just came in with a big catch," I overheard Stoick order. From my cozy spot on an empty barrel, I could see the baskets of fish being schlepped up from the docks to the storehouse. Yeah, I'd say that was a pretty big catch, all right.

"Stoick!" the voice of the most crotchety, irritatingly stubborn old man rang out over the plaza before the storehouse, and I sighed. Here he comes, as usual. I pushed off of the barrel and walked over to Hiccup and Gobber, taking refuge there from any attacks Mildew might make. Verbal, not physical, that is. In a fight, I'm pretty sure I would come out the victor against that old geezer.

"Ah, here's Mildew with the complaint of the day," Gobber said drily, already tired of seeing one of the oldest people on the island. Who could blame him? He's almost as bad as the people on Blackstone. Almost.

"You picked a bad time, Mildew. I'm in the middle of storing food. The freeze is coming," Stoick sighed. My eyes widened. It got colder? As in, freezing cold? Oh, great. Time to start grabbing as many furs as I could for my hammock. Thank the gods I didn't sleep outside.

"It's the dragons again. Those demons are not fit to live among civilized men," he grumbled, his sheep, Fungus, by his side. The man alone was bad, but his sheep was just plain weird. There are no words to describe it.

"Neither are you, Mildew. Why do you think we built your house so far outside of town?" Gobber retorted sardonically. I smirked, but made sure to hide it behind a hand. Best to not give Mildew another reason to dislike me. Well, any more than he already did.

"Ah, very well, make your jokes. Meanwhile, these dragons upend our village carts! Turn people's houses into piles of rubble!" Mildew complained. The crowd started agreeing with him, much to my and Hiccup's dismay. I guess living with dragon poop showers and stolen food was starting to get to them.

"They even disturb an old man's rest! Can't you see these bags under me eyes?" I tried not to look too closely at his face. I was already having nightmares. Couldn't he leave well enough alone and not add to the problem?

"He's right, he's hideous," the blacksmith admitted with a shrug. Mildew shot him a glare, then turned to look at the crowd.

"These are wild and unpredictable beasts!" he shouted. The old man swung his staff to point at Bucket. "They even cracked this man's skull like an egg!"

"Eggs? I like eggs! Scrambled, over easy, poached!" Bucket said enthusiastically. Oh. That explained a few things. Pity rose up, but I forced it down. Too often, I had seen people on Blackstone do this. They would try to rile the crowd up with their words, get them to obey a different mindset than theirs. Most of the time, it had been by the other kids, and directed at me. That was part of the reason why I was starting to get ticked off at Mildew.

"You need to put those dragons in cages!" he demanded. My eyes narrowed. Where had I heard that before? Oh, yes, right before Frostwave and I were locked up in gaol for three years.

But no matter my reasons for disagreeing with him, the crowd had begun to throw its weight behind him with cries of agreement.

"If you don't, they'll eat us out of house and home and destroy the entire village!"

The Viking mob's yelling got louder, and I glanced at Hiccup. He seemed just as worried as I did.

"They don't mean any harm. They're just dragons being dragons," he did his best to calm down the Vikings. I nodded.

"Besides, they're probably just not used to being around humans so much. They need to be acclimated into the village before they stop being like this," I added. The memory of my meetings with Frostwave flashed briefly in my mind's eye. She had been pretty suspicious of me, and hadn't been afraid to show it in growls and displays of her natural weapons, but once she knew me and was used to my presence, I was able to touch her, and eventually fly on her back.

Mildew gave me the evil eye at this, but Stoick intervened before he could add me to his list of grievances.

"Look, Mildew, if there's a problem, I'll deal with it," he assured the elderly man.

"Oh, there is a problem, Stoick. And I think I speak for everyone when I say you better do something about it," Mildew said, his threat barely veiled by the tone of his voice. He turned and left, taking Fungus with him, and when his back was turned, I stuck out my tongue and pulled down one eyelid.

"Yeah, right. Go back to your distant home, you buecuh-cilgehk umt pycdynt," I growled under my breath. Hiccup rolled his eyes, but nodded.

"I don't get it. Why's he so against the dragons?" he asked. Gobber was already gone, off to work in the forge on something, and I shrugged.

"It's not just the dragons. I think he's got a vendetta against anything that isn't like the old days. When I first met him, you know what he said to me? He said, 'Great. First the dragons, and now a pirate girl. Mark my words, Stoick, she'll rob us blind and slit our throats when we least expect it,'" I informed him bitterly. The teenage boy's eyes widened.

"Really? That's, uh... not very nice of him." I snorted.

"No kidding. I told him that I wouldn't do that, but he didn't listen, of course. Stupid old coot," came my reply, more of a mutter than an outright statement. He still heard, and gently patted my right shoulder.

"Don't worry, Addie. I'm sure we'll be able to do something," he replied comfortingly. I nodded, and we walked back to the chief's house.

_After Hiccup tries to do something..._

Poor, poor Hiccup. I had seen everything from my spot up on the catapult with the other teens. That wouldn't have been enjoyable, even for a masochist.

I was sitting near the fire, sketching out my plans for a better version of my spear-chain, when Astrid came in. I looked up and waved shortly, and she nodded back.

"Oh, uh, hey, Astrid," I said, uncertain how to act around her. That little thing on my birthday had been quite confusing, and so I was at a disadvantage when I spoke with the blonde girl.

"Hi, Addie. Is Hiccup here?" she asked, looking up at the second floor. I shrugged.

"Probably. I didn't see him in the plaza after that little incident, so he's most likely licking his wounds up there. Wanna go see him, give him a little support?" I asked warily. She nodded, and I stood up. We climbed up the stairs to see our favorite dragon trainer standing by his bed.

"Hey, Astrid, Addie. What a nice surprise!" Hiccup said brightly. Too brightly. He was definitely suffering.

"So, how was your day?" she asked. He shrugged.

"Uh, uneventful. Hung around the plaza. You know..." the son of our chief trailed off painfully. I could see him wince when he moved. He must still have been sore.

"Yeah, I do know. We saw you out there. It's hard to believe you're still standing," Astrid replied. I nodded.

"Do you need some juniper oil? It'll help with the muscle pain if you dilute it and rub it on your skin," I offered. Hiccup groaned and flopped back onto his bed.

"Ugh... I might just take you up on that, Addie," he grumbled. "Ah, I'm gonna be seeing flaming sheep in my dreams for the next month."

The irreverent part of me pictured that and tried to giggle, but the sound of Stoick calling his son's name stifled it. The big man soon joined us in the attic room, taking note of our presences, then focusing on his son on the bed.

"Hiccup, what's going on out there? The plaza looks like a war zone," he demanded answers, not noticing the looks I was shooting Astrid. It might be better if we weren't here when all Hel broke loose.

Hiccup sat up and sighed.

"I know it looks bad..." he began, rubbing the hair at the back of his head. I smirked.

"_Really_ bad," I corrected in a whisper. He rolled his eyes and looked at his father.

"Yeah, but this is only Phase One of my master plan," he continued.

"Oh, so you do have a plan?" Stoick asked interestedly. Hiccup paled a little, but nodded.

"I do... of course I do! It's very complex. Lots of drawings, several moving parts. Yeah, it's, uh, pretty wild," he said lamely. I rolled my eyes. Come on, Hiccup. Surely you can come up with a better excuse than that. And I wasn't the only one to be skeptical.

"Uh-huh. Well, this better be real, because Mildew's stirred up the whole island. And if you don't get those dragons under control, they'll be calling for their heads," his father replied grimly before leaving the room. At this, Toothless looked up at us worriedly.

"Don't worry, bud. Your head's not going anywhere," Hiccup reassured him.

"You do realize there are, like, a bazillion dragons out there and only one of you? I hope you really do have a plan," Astrid asked fatalistically. I shrugged.

"Why plan? Improvisation is much more fun," I replied, getting up from my perch on the wood at the foot of the bed and stretching.

"Well, I'm going to sleep. Something tells me we're gonna have to help with his plan tomorrow, and I prefer to work with a decent amount of sleep in my system," I yawned. My feet carried me downstairs to my room, where Frostwave was already curled up under the hammock. One eye flicked open at my approach, and she crooned gently.

"_I, too, hope the Hiccup has a good plan. The elderly bigot is very tenacious in his goals. If he is not stopped, I fear I will also be forced into a cage,_" she growled softly, giving voice to the fear gnawing away at my heart. I didn't want to lose Frostwave. She was my sister, my family, my only light in the darkness of Blackstone. If I had to lock her away, then I'd rather leave, even if it meant giving up Hiccup. No, I'd knock him out, tie him up, and fly Toothless for him while we left together. Well, if Toothless would let me. And if Frostwave was okay with me riding the Night Fury. But even then, I'd rather not be here, where dragons are imprisoned, than somewhere else that was more accepting of my and Hiccup's view on the reptiles.

That cheery thought in mind, I climbed into my hammock and cocooned myself in the blankets, eager to get this over with.

_The next day..._

That morning, we gathered in the arena to hear Hiccup's big idea. Frostwave was very uncomfortable here, and it wasn't just the soft mews of distress coming from her throat that told me so. Her head was low, not its usual high position, and she seemed like she was trying to shrink, that's how tight her wings and legs were against her body.

"_This place... it reeks of death,_" she hissed out plaintively, her eyes thin slits as she looked around the stony circle. By the way her fins were flattened against her head, it also sounded bad.

Sometimes, I wondered whether she could hear more than just physical sounds. When we had taken a short flight to this one small island covered in Iceland moss, she had said she could hear that there had been a great battle there. Moments later, I found the remains of humans and dragons, along with some rusty weapons and armor, overgrown with the valuable aid for bad coughs. It got me wondering whether her claiming to be a guardian of dragon history was more than just some reason to act all high and mighty, and was an actual purpose for her species. It would make some sense. I mean, if they had to defend something as precious as that, then of course they would have so many ways to protect themselves from those that wanted to kill them.

"_That's_ your plan? Train dragons?" Ruffnut said incredulously.

"_Here_? Where we used to kill them?" Tuff added.

"Right... because we don't do that any more. That's why it's available," Hiccup sighed, trying to get his point across. I looked around and felt my mouth twist. Sure, the chain net over the top looked like fun to climb on, but I doubted the dragons that had been killed here thought the same.

"Actually, the dragons do seem a little nervous. Frostwave, especially," Astrid pointed out, glancing at my dragon. I couldn't even counter that. My dragon had lost her mate to humans, and being one of her species made her very attuned to the history of places.

"That's because they're very sensitive. Meatlug especially. She lost a cousin here," Fishlegs replied, covering his dragon's ear fins. "We try not to talk about it."

"It's amazing your dad just gave us the arena," Astrid said, turning from the heavyset boy to the leader of our group. He smiled nervously.

"Well, it would be, if he did, yeah, but, he didn't, so that's another thing we should try not to talk about," he answered uncertainly, echoing Fishlegs' most recent comment. I perked up at this.

"Wait, so we're going behind your father's back? Now you have my attention," I interjected, my curiosity piqued. Hiccup flung his arms in the air.

"There you go, talking about it! Uh, all right. Everybody, here's the thing. The dragons are out of control. We want them to live in our world without destroying it, but they can't without our help. They've been blowing things up in the village, and we've gotta do something about that," he explained exasperatedly.

"Got it! Help dragons blow things up! We can totally do that," Tuffnut said determinedly. Hiccup's brow furrowed.

"No, I believe I said-" he began, but Ruff cut him off.

"Here's how we're gonna do it: first, we make them really, really angry," she started planning out their scheme. It would have been entertaining, if the topic wasn't so serious.

"No problem. We anger everybody," her brother replied calmly.

"No, you guys, this is serious! Mildew wants all of our dragons caged. And I don't know about you, but that's _not_ okay with me," Hiccup said firmly. The twins looked at each other guiltily.

"You're right. She's sorry," Tuff said, earning a glare from his sister.

"Okay, then. Next problem: the dragons are eating everything in sight. Now, when a dragon grabs something it's not supposed to have, you can get him to drop it by giving him a little scratch just below the chin," he explained, letting Toothless take a loaf of bread from his hand and illustrating his point. I raised my hand.

"That's not such a good idea with Frostwave. I tried that, once, and I nearly lost my hand. Silver Horrors hate having their chins scratched. Plus, they have really strong jaws. It's nearly impossible to get her to drop something," I mentioned. My dragon dipped her head. Hiccup sighed and shrugged.

"Then what works for you?" he asked, just a little bit curious. I looked at Frostwave and smiled.

"Flicking her nose helps. The surprise of it gets her to loosen her jaws enough to let go of the object. I found that out when she was chewing on my boots a lot," I replied. She huffed a cloud of ice at my face and curled up into a tight ball, trying to block out the cries of death she must have been hearing.

"Ehneneneneh! Maybe that works for you and Toothless, or Addie and Frostwave with their nose-flicky thing, but Hookfang and me? We do things a little different," Snotlout butted into the conversation. I rolled my eyes and folded my arms across my chest. This would be fun.

Snotlout grabbed the bread and threw it at the Monstrous Nightmare. Hookfang caught it with his mouth, but he didn't eat it. Yet.

"When I want this big boy to do something, I just get right in his face and- DROP THAT RIGHT NOW! YOU HEAR ME?" he shouted at his dragon. This understandably irritated Hookfang, who spat out the bread and chose his rider as his next meal. All that was left was his legs dangling from the mouth of the Monstrous Nightmare. Snotlout's voice was muffled when he spoke. "See? He dropped it."

Tuffnut snickered, and so did Ruffnut and I. Astrid was just smirking, but Fishlegs and Hiccup seemed a bit annoyed.

"Should we help him?" Tuff asked. I shrugged. Not my problem if he and Hookfang had communication issues. That's all on him.

"Yeah, in a minute," Astrid answered, shifting her body weight from one leg to the other. Hiccup just sighed, giving up on this whole thing.

"All right. We've got a lot of training to do, but together, we can keep these dragons under control," he said enthusiastically. With that, we began leaving the arena to do our work. Snotlout was still in Hookfang's mouth, though.

"Uh, can somebody do that chin-scratchy thing? Hello? You guys still there?" he asked nervously. I let out a deep sigh and stood up.

"Fine, fine. Hookfang, let go of Snotlout, right now," I ordered, staring the dragon right in the eye. Something happened then, some sort of temporary weakening of my body, and then he obligingly opened his mouth and dumped Snotlout. Frostwave growled unsettlingly, but said nothing. Well, whatever had just happened, it wasn't important right now. We needed to get the dragons under control, before they were locked away for good.

_Later that day..._

We were walking through the village, which was strangely dragon-free. Either they heard us coming and decided to clear out before they were faced with the might of our awesome dragon training techniques, or there was something going on. My money was on the latter.

"Huh. No dragons," Fishlegs commented as we passed the upright houses. I barely resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Thank you, Captain Obvious.

"That was easy," Ruff added. We all nodded, though I could tell Hiccup was a bit confused. Who wouldn't be? Normally, they swarmed this place like ants on honey.

"Lunch?" Snotlout suggested, clearly recovered from the Hookfang incident. Come to think of it, where _were_ all our dragons? The only one that was still with us was Frostwave, and even she was acting odd. Every time I looked at her, she glanced away and studied the scenery or her claws, and then shot me strange looks. Was it something I said?

"That's weird. If the dragons aren't here..." Hiccup trailed off. My brow furrowed.

"Where are they?" I completed. Something was definitely up.

The sounds of an explosion and faint screams in the distance answered that. A cloud of smoke shaped like a mushroom slowly rose up from elsewhere in the village, in the same direction as the screaming.

"Something tells me, that way," Astrid answered nervously. This was definitely not good.

* * *

**Author's Notes: Translations! WOOT!**

**buecuh-cilgehk umt pycdynt – poison-sucking old bastard (I'm trying to keep her insults PG, but it gets hard, sometimes)**

**I'm cutting this into two parts, mostly because I don't want a repeat of the 14K chapter incident. I might be doing that with a lot of chapters, so be forewarned! Again, I'm really sorry about the late update! I was busy with other things... which sounds like a really lame excuse, even if it is true.**

**As always, I'd love reviews! Anything is okay! No, seriously! A-NY-THING!**

**Wild Cat 214, out!**


	16. Chapter 14: Trouble in Paradise, Pt 2

_"__You're as cold as ice!_

_You're willing to sacrifice our love._

_You never take advice._

_But someday, you'll pay the price, I know."_

_-Foreigner, "Cold as Ice"_

* * *

**Author's Notes: So, some of you have probably noticed that I've switched the genre from Adventure/Romance to Adventure/Drama. I feel that, given how my story has been so far, and what I have planned, that would be slightly more appropriate for ****_Frozen Flames_****.**

**Favorite – Taitertot; Jinxx-xx-xx**

**Follow – Taitertot; Jinxx-xx-xx**

**MMM – She's gonna do her best to keep Frostwave free, yeah. And no, her family can't come looking for her. They've got some problems of their own right now. I can't tell you what, exactly, because that would be some major spoilers, but she's not going to see her family for a very long time. And you'll be very surprised when she does.**

**Guest – You're right, Addie is a bit of a homewrecker, I won't deny it. She has some serious issues right now; her mind is pretty messed up (hence her status as the "broken" Guardian of Kindness) from her years on Blackstone, and since she's grown up with the idea that it's okay to take what you want, Addie is perfectly willing to get between Hiccup and Astrid so she can have him. I honestly think she's my most traumatized character of all, in terms of backstory. Not to make excuses for her behavior – I mean, she has definitely been acting very badly – but she does have her reasons. Her possessiveness and aggressiveness are just results of her childhood. I myself am not nearly this bad... I think.**

**Disclaimer: HTTYD is not mine. End of story.**

**Key:**

**Bold: Translated Benydeyh**

_Italic: Frostwave's translated lines (when from Addie's POV); human language (when Frostwave's POV); emphasis during normal speech_

**_Italic Bold:Translated Benydeyh (when Frostwave's POV)_**

Normal: normal Norse; emphasis during flashbacks or when Frostwave is speaking

* * *

3rd Person POV: Hiccup

The dragon riders hurried to the scene of the crime, where the food storage house was now a heap of smoldering wood. Dragons were eating the supplies – mainly fish – including the mounts of the other teens.

"Stormfly?"

"Hookfang?"

Astrid and Snotlout's dismayed exclamations caught the attentions of their dragons, who looked at them sheepishly from their impromptu meal. Frostwave growled in disappointment at them, and they lowered their heads in even more shame.

"They've eaten everything! We've got nothing left for the freeze!" Stoick rumbled from among the wreckage. Mildew showed up with his usual perfect timing and glared at the dragons.

"I warned you, Stoick. But did you listen to me? No. You put a bunch of _teenagers_ in charge! Now look what the dragons have done! Caging is too good for those beasts. And I bet that girl had something to do with it, too," the old man sneered, sending one poisonous look Addie's way. Her eyes narrowed and she stepped forward, but Hiccup held up one arm to stop her.

"Dad, I swear I can fix this. We... we were just starting to-" he began explaining, but Stoick cut him off.

"Enough, Hiccup! How can I trust you to control all the dragons, when you couldn't even control your own?" the chief asked disappointedly. One arm directed their gazes to a certain Night Fury with a basket of fish. One scaly tail flopped from Toothless' mouth, and he swallowed it before giving Hiccup a guilty look.

"Oh, Toothless..." he sighed. His father had turned to look at the two primary fishermen.

"Bucket! Mulch! Man the boats! We need another catch!" he ordered loudly, fixing a stern look upon them. The shorter man gave him a sympathetic look.

"It's too late, Stoick. It took us six months to catch all that fish," he said resignedly. The chief would have none of that, of course. Stoick the Vast doesn't give up that quickly, if at all. He was too stubborn for that.

"Don't tell me it's too late! We've got to try!" he countered, doing his best to keep the village from throwing in the towel so easily. Mulch nodded nervously.

"Of course we do!" he corrected himself quickly. Turning to look at Bucket, he said softly, "Uh, don't tell the Chief it's too late. You're always so negative!" The blond man nodded sadly.

"I don't know what it is with me," he agreed bemusedly. Hiccup didn't give in, though. He knew there could be another way besides caging them.

"Dad, please! You gotta listen to me. I know dragons better than-" he tried again. And again, Stoick wouldn't listen.

"Not now, Hiccup. I have a village to feed. The dragons have done enough damage. By tonight, I want every one of them caged. Addie, on the other hand, is free. She had nothing to do with this. Understand?" he turned his firm glare upon his own son. Before he could accept it, Mildew butted in, amidst the approving sounds of the mob of Vikings.

"Bah! You can't just cage these dragons! You need to send them and the girl away, _now_!" he demanded. Hiccup didn't understand why he seemed so intent on sending Addie away, but it definitely wasn't making him happy. What had she done to deserve this treatment?

"You're right, Mildew. We'll cage them tonight, except for Addie, and in the morning, Hiccup will send them off the island. I'm sorry, son," Stoick conceded. It was clear Mildew wasn't exceedingly happy with that, but he was willing to take what he was given. The look he directed at Addie still told them that it wasn't over, even as he began the tedious journey back to his own home.

_Several hours later..._

Adeline's POV

"I can't believe we have to send them away!" Snotlout said despondently. I just hunched over my chair, sitting on it backwards. Benches had never been my thing. They reminded me too much of the eating halls of Blackstone, and sitting so close to people bothered me. This whole thing was stupid. The dragons shouldn't be punished for simply being themselves. No one and nothing should be punished for that reason.

"It's gonna be weird. I got used to Stormfly's face being the first thing I see every morning," Astrid commented, resigned sadness in her voice. I nodded.

"I don't know how I'm going to get around the village without Frostwave's help. Maybe I'll just put up little colored flags..." came my listless remark. Nothing seemed right anymore. The world had lost its color once I knew the dragons were going to leave. No, I couldn't let that happen. Dragons meant more to me than most humans did, the exceptions being Hiccup and my friends. If they left, I was going with them.

"Every night before I went to sleep, Meatlug would lick my feet. Who's gonna do that now?!" Fishlegs wailed. Ruffnut, bless her twisted little heart, tried to cheer us up with a joke.

"I volunteer Tuffnut!" she replied, the smile on her face forced. Her brother was just too apathetic to object.

"Whatever. What time should I be there?" Tuffnut asked tonelessly. Frostwave hummed the Faith song quietly, trying to cheer me up.

"_It shall be all right, Addie. I will not go so easily,_" she crooned, blowing some ice into my hair. I just brushed it out and sighed heavily. Not even the Faith song could help with my mood, and it had been one of the few things that had kept me going in our cell for those three years.

"Come on, guys. Let's get this over with," Astrid grumbled mournfully. I pushed myself out of the seat and walked with Frostwave, taking the lead. She was right. It was better to just get it over with instead of drawing it out. Like removing a particularly sticky bandage from a healed wound.

"This is the worst day of my life! We're never gonna see our dragons again!" Fishlegs exclaimed sadly. I didn't stick around to see what Hiccup had to say. This was it. Over before it ever started. The Chief's word was law, both here and on Blackstone. Going against him would just make things worse, maybe bad enough that they'd start killing dragons like they used to. If that happened, I would be out of here faster than I eat, which is pretty damn quick.

As I went through the huge doors of the Great Hall, I passed a certain irritating old man.

"Hmph. Going to cage your dragon now, eh, girl? Stoick should have made you be locked up again, as well. Ah, well. At least you won't have your precious dragons anymore," he sneered coldly. Frostwave growled at him in dragonspeak, so I don't know what she said, but I could guess. It would definitely not be suitable for children, even Viking children.

"**And if you keep talking, you won't have a throat anymore,**" I snarled back. My tone was threat enough, even if he couldn't understand me, and so, ignoring his shocked and confused sputters, I descended the steep steps leading up to the Hall.

* * *

The sun was setting when we came to the arena. I knew it bugged Frostwave to be there, so I did my best to soothe her while we went down the stone ramp to the huge cage at the far end.

"This is stupid. You shouldn't have to be locked up just because of some dumb old fart," I grumbled, stroking her horn softly. I couldn't bear to let her go into the cage just yet. We had far too much experience with being locked away. Spending more time than was necessary in a cell would be more torturous now than it had ever been before, now that we had tasted freedom.

"_Age means much in this world. It implies wisdom and skill, though the implications can be far from the truth, sometimes,_" Frostwave growled philosophically. I scowled.

"In Mildew's case, I think it just means he's too attached to the old ways. That guy liked killing dragons way too much to be happy with the new order of things," I retorted coldly. He was a lot like the adults of Blackstone, always griping about how the treatment of the island's Ytubdaac was too lenient or how the Captain should never have adopted me. Too much like them, in fact. It made me shudder to imagine him as one of the pirate elders. Too old to actually go on missions, but in his youth, one of the worst of a bad bunch.

It wasn't long before the others showed up, though Hiccup was conspicuously not among their number. They didn't come inside the arena itself, though. I don't think they could have gone through with this if they did. Snotlout said his goodbyes to Hookfang before sending him inside to join us. Astrid apologized and told her Nadder to enter the arena, pointing her torch in the direction of the gates to emphasize the command. The Nadder, the Gronckle, and the Zippleback soon joined us inside. I stood up from my spot against Frostwave's side and gave her a pained look.

"_Go, Addie. I shall be fine in here. They cannot cage me for long,_" she crooned softly, though by the looks of her eyes and fins, she was not happy with this arrangement. Neither was I, but it wasn't like I could do anything about it. I was still relatively new on Berk. I didn't have much of a voice, especially considering my history. Ex-pirates aren't exactly the most welcomed people anywhere.

Patting her nose one last time, I turned and left the arena, letting them slowly start closing the gates.

"Ugh. Feels like big, sharp teeth are tearing at this _thing_ in my chest," Snotlout grumbled sadly. Astrid gave him a sympathetic look.

"That's what it feels like... when your heart is breaking," she replied. Of course, Snotlout would have none of it.

"I don't have a heart! I'm not a girl!" he retorted angrily, though I could tell his heart wasn't in it. If you get my drift.

Gods, even I couldn't laugh at my jokes. That's how bad I felt.

The gates were about to close when we heard Hiccup shout, "Don't close it!" The metal portcullis stopped lowering, and we turned to see him and Toothless land.

"We are not locking them up," he said firmly. My heart soared. Frostwave would be free! But wait. What was with the sudden change of heart?

"What happened? Did you change your father's mind? Or are we going behind his back again?" Astrid asked suspiciously. I grinned, my first real smile since this whole afternoon. It widened when I saw the guilty look on his face.

"Uh... one of those. Look. The dragons are gonna do what they're gonna do. It's in their nature. We just need to learn how to use it!" Hiccup began explaining his plan, and with every word, I felt a weight lift from my chest. Yes. This would work. This had to work. Because otherwise, I would lose the only family I had left. I couldn't let that happen. Not again.

_The next day..._

I was riding on Frostwave's neck again, her horns clenched tightly in my hands. This was our only shot at fixing things. If we failed this, the dragons would be sent away for good. We flew over the ocean, and that's when we saw Bucket and Mulch on their boat.

"Snotlout, scare us up some dinner!" Hiccup ordered, pointing down at them as we flew over the boat.

"Dragon attack!" Bucket screamed. I could only shake my head. Well, when this was all over, things would be better. For us, and for the dragons. Except for Mildew. He would definitely not be happy with this turn of events.

Hookfang dove into the ocean, Snotlout still riding him, and startled the school of fish nearby into swimming right into the nets. They shot out with a triumphant whoop from the Jorgenson boy, and I followed Hiccup to our next mission, not sticking around to hear his victory shouts.

This next part was all on me, Astrid, Fishlegs, and Hiccup. We flew up to Mildew's house, way on the other side of the mountain Berk was perched near, and saw him trying to plant more cabbage. It irked me that we had to help him, but Hiccup had insisted, seeing as dragons had destroyed his field before. Oh, well. I would live.

"Afternoon, Mildew!" Astrid greeted him cheerfully. I waved and leaned forward over Frostwave's head.

"**Ready, girl? Let's use that tail of yours,**" I murmured, and she growled in anticipation. She and Stormfly used their tails to plow furrows in the soil, which probably would have taken him several weeks to do himself, and as we turned to watch the rest of it, I had to grin at the old man's confused expression. Hiccup had flown directly behind us, sprinkling cabbage seeds into the furrows, and then he joined us.

"Three o'clock! Time for the fertilizer!" he called down brightly. I chuckled when I saw the old man echo that last word, and started laughing outright when Fishlegs led a bunch of dragons on Meatlug over the field.

"Okay, Meatlug, let 'er rip!" he cried out. The dragons began relieving themselves, letting green chunks rain down onto the field, and Hiccup flew a bit closer once it was done.

"Smile, Mildew! We just saved you three months of work!" he shouted before heading off to the next stage of the plan. I gave Mildew a jaunty wave of my hand before flying toward the village again. Frostwave was humming merrily.

"_The Hiccup is a wise leader,_" she growled pleasantly, landing a few yards away from the slaughterhouse. We heard an explosion from the direction of the forest, and the familiar sound of Night Fury blasts alerted us to the next stage in the plan. Soon, boars came stampeding towards us, and Frostwave used her ice to help direct them into the building by creating a narrow path to the doors.

"That's the way to do it!" he cheered, coming up on Toothless. The rest all gathered around us soon, and I'm almost positive the grins they had on was mirrored on my face. This was one of the best plans I had ever heard, which, sadly, isn't saying much. It had to convince Stoick that the dragons didn't need to go away.

"Whoo-hoo! That was awesome!" Fishlegs exclaimed. Astrid looked at our leader curiously.

"How did you know that was gonna work?" she asked. He smiled and told her.

"Because they're dragons, and they're gonna do what dragons do. We just have to work _with_ them and not _against_ them. You know who we should actually be thanking?" he said, grinning. Something made my stomach twist. What did he mean by that, and why was I getting such a bad feeling about it?

"There they are, Stoick! Those dragons don't look like they're in cages to me," Mildew's hoarse voice rang out across the plaza we were currently in, and I winced. Of course he would rat us out. Of course he would. Never mind that we actually helped him, or anything. NOOOO. he just had to pay us back by telling Stoick that we hadn't obeyed his orders.

"No. This is not what I asked for," Stoick rumbled disapprovingly. One hand instinctively went to my leg, but I managed to keep myself calm. This was not the time to flip out and protect my dragon. Not yet, anyways.

3rd Person POV: Hiccup

Stoick led them to the arena, caged their dragons wordlessly, and had them line up in front of him. Gobber was standing off to one side, eyeing them worriedly. Mildew and Fungus were somewhere outside, watching everything with growing anticipation.

"Oh no! What's Stoick gonna do to us?" Fishlegs asked worriedly.

"I'm too pretty for jail!" Ruffnut complained. Her brother chuckled humorlessly.

"Where'd you hear _that_?" he replied. Addie scowled.

"You're not too _young_ for jail. Believe me, I know," she snarled coldly, one hand on her thigh just inside the slit of her skirt. She must have had something underneath that she planned to use to free Frostwave. It worried him. He had never seen such a cold, calculating look on someone's face, and he knew that she would not hesitate to do anything to help her dragon.

"You all disobeyed my orders, and there will be consequences," Stoick began. Hiccup could feel Astrid scowl beside him.

"I told you we were gonna get in trouble. Ugh, you never listen to me!" she whispered furiously. He sighed and took a step forward, ready to take all the blame. After all, he had been the one to come up with the idea, he reasoned.

"Dad, if anyone's going to get in trouble, it should be me," he said resolutely. His father shook his head.

"Nope. You all had a hand in this," he replied sternly. "You took over this place without asking. You released the dragons against my wishes. Things are going to change around here. That's why I-"

"You're getting a Dragon Training Academy!" Gobber interrupted enthusiastically. Hiccup froze with shock. What? Had he heard that right?

"Gobber! I wanted to tell them!" Stoick said reproachfully. Slowly, the tension and confusion melted away, to be replaced with the warm glow of relief and joy.

"I'm sorry. You're right. Go ahead," the blacksmith replied sheepishly. Stoick scowled.

"Well, you told most of it!" he said exasperatedly. The other man grinned toothily.

"You can tell him the part about how proud you are of them!" he suggested, only making the situation worse.

"GOBBER!" he shouted. Sighing heavily, he turned back to the dragon riders. "Hiccup... well, what he said. You've all made me proud. This Dragon Training Academy is for you."

The chief of Berk opened the huge cage in the back where the dragons had been stashed, and they all rushed out to reunite with their riders.

"Hookfang! My buddy!" Snotlout yelled joyously, jumping on his Monstrous Nightmare's muzzle.

"Hey, Stormfly! I missed you so much!" Astrid cried out, stroking her Nadder's head gently.

"Meatlug! Oh, who's Daddy's little baby? Who's Daddy's little..." Fishlegs trailed off into unintelligible baby talk as he held his Gronckle's head.

"Frostwave!" Addie yelled happily, embracing the Silver Horror's entire head. She crooned something, and the girl chuckled nervously.

"Hey, I wouldn't have just let them cage you like that. You know that," she said, brushing her skirt. As she did so, Hiccup got a glimpse of something silver coiled up against her leggings: a spear-chain, polished and ready for action. Before he could think more on that unpleasant thought, his Night Fury friend came up to him and headbutted him.

"Hey, bud!" he exclaimed, holding Toothless' head warmly.

"Now all you have to do is train 'em," Stoick said encouragingly. Hiccup nodded and looked at his father, smiling softly.

"Not a problem, Dad. After all, I've got him," he answered, indicating Toothless. Astrid cleared her throat behind him, and he turned to see the other Riders had gathered.

"And... them, too."

Hiccup, narrating

_Hiccup draws the entire Academy with their dragons, getting every single detail in. Adeline and Frostwave curl up together, forgoing the hammock in favor of staying together. Meatlug licks Fishlegs' feet as he sleeps. Stormfly opens Astrid's window, waking her up so they can get a head start on the day._

Dragons can't change who they are. But who would want them to? Dragons are powerful, amazing creatures.

_Hookfang and Meatlug, led by Snotlout and Fishlegs, carefully set up the Academy's new sign above the gate. On it is a Night Fury, curled into a spiral with one red fin, and in letters around it reads the new name of this structure._

_ "__Berk Dragon Academy. I like the sound of that. Much better than Ynahy, that's for sure," Addie says appreciatively, looking at him cheerfully. The ropes holding up the circle of wood settle in place on both sides._

And as long as it takes me, I am going to learn everything there is to know about them. Wouldn't you?"

* * *

**Author's Notes: Behold, the translations!**

**Ytubdaac – Adoptees**

**Episode 1 of Riders of Berk has come to a close, and I have to say, I'm starting to get a little excited here. I have so much planned for the rest of this, including a few shocking revelations about Addie. Well, quite a few.**

**Any reviews are welcome! I like hearing from you!**

**Wild Cat 214, out!**


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